The Wrong Mr. Wright Read online

  Her cheeks colored, and a sudden wave of shame washed over him.

  “I beg your forgiveness,” he croaked. “I do not know what came over me. I had no right to speak such words.”

  “At least it proves you are human, after all. Such nobility must be hard to live up to,” Miss Somerville said.

  He risked a glance and to his surprise found that she was regarding him not with anger, but rather studying him quite seriously, as if he were a rare beast at the zoo.

  “George spoke of you often,” Miss Somerville said.

  “I doubt it was flattering.”

  “He said you were stiff with honor. At least he got that part right,” Miss Somerville said. “After all, George is the sinner here, and yet you came all this way to offer to marry me. Payment for your brother’s crimes as it were. I think most would say that is carrying nobility a bit far.”

  She crossed the library and sat down on a small sofa. At her nod, Stephen took his own seat on a brocaded chair opposite. The chair creaked alarmingly as he sat on it, and he wondered if it would hold. Having the chair collapse under him would complete his utter humiliation.

  “I bear at least some of the blame for George’s misconduct,” Stephen said. “If I had been able to curb his wildness sooner, this might never have happened.”

  “You are his brother, not his father,” Miss Somerville responded. “And in truth, his sin is not so large as you seem to believe.”

  “But you. Your, er, your reputation is ruined,” Stephen answered. He could feel his ears coloring, but he could hardly mention the loss of her maidenhead.

  Miss Somerville shook her head. “The reputation does not matter. I had no plans to marry anyway. As it is, I look upon that evening as an educational experience.”

  “An educational experience?” His voice rose in disbelief. How could she be so blasted calm? “Are you saying you wanted him to make love to you?”

  Now it was Miss Somerville’s turn to blush. “Oh,” she said in a small voice, her gaze firmly fixed upon her feet.

  He followed her gaze and noted that the toes of her slippers were scuffed.

  “Nothing happened,” she said.

  “Nothing?”

  “No. Though he did try,” she said, her gaze coming back to him. “But I told him if he touched me, I would cast up my accounts. He did not believe me, and so I was forced to carry through with my threat.”

  His mind boggled at the image her words painted. George, his face no doubt flushed with strong drink, preparing to take Miss Somerville’s innocence by force. And Miss Somerville, defending herself with the only weapon she had. Her wits.

  “I take it he was not pleased?”

  “It seems I ruined a pair of satin breeches, not to mention his silk stockings,” Miss Somerville said, smiling a little in remembrance. “He left me alone after that, although he refused to let me leave the inn where he had brought me. Not till the next morning, anyway, when he hired a hackney coach to take me home.”

  “But why did you go with him in the first place?”

  “It was warm that night, and after we danced, Mr. Wright suggested we could cool off by taking a turn in the gardens. It was foolish of me, I know, but I thought of no harm, save perhaps that he might want to steal a kiss.”

  At this she blushed, and he realized that she felt guilty for her imaginings. But she was hardly to blame after all. A stolen kiss was a minor peccadillo when compared with attempted rape.

  “You trusted him,” he said.

  “Yes. I thought I did. And if he had contented himself with a single kiss, then we would have parted as friends.

  “Instead, once we were out of view of the others, he began to drag me toward the back gate. I should have screamed, but I did not want to cause a scene. I was sure I could make him listen to reason if he would just stop for a moment. Before I knew what was happening, he bundled me into a carriage that was waiting outside the gate. And the rest you know.”

  Or could guess.

  “And you swear that is all he did?” Stephen asked. “I swear. It was uncomfortable, and I was frightened, I will admit. But he did not hurt me in any way except my pride. I thought myself a good judge of character, until that night. Now I know better than to put my trust in a gentleman whom I barely know.”

  He knew he should be relieved. So George had not committed the ultimate sin, although it was not for lack of trying. If another woman had found herself in Miss Somerville’s situation, no doubt she would have been ruined in fact as well as in name.

  As it was, only Miss Somerville’s reputation had suffered. The woman herself was still as she had been, an innocent. And there would be no consequences from that evening, no bastard child that needed the protection of his name.

  “I am glad that he did not harm you,” Stephen said. “But the damage to your reputation is harm enough. I regret to tell you that word of that night has already spread through London, and the gossips have made their own sordid conclusions. It is unlikely you will find a gentleman willing to overlook such a tale and marry you.”

  Which was a shame, since she really was quite a pretty girl. And a brave one, too, to have come through her ordeal unscathed.

  “I have no intention of marrying. I am an advocate of women’s rights and plan to live my own life outside of society’s conventions,” Miss Somerville said.

  “Your father mentioned something of that sort. He said you wished to explore Africa?”

  Miss Somerville shook her head. “Papa never listens to me. I have told him a hundred times. When I reach the age of one and twenty I will receive my inheritance from my great-aunt Sophie. And with it I will explore the world and become the most famous female explorer since Lady Hester Stanhope. I will start by being the first female to journey along the Amazon River.”

  “The Amazon River is in South America. Brazil, actually,” Stephen said.

  Miss Somerville’s eyes sparkled. “Of course it is, though to Papa one foreign place is the same as any other. Do you know of it?”

  “Yes,” he said. “The Explorers’ club financed an expedition there three years ago. I have just begun reading a book which recounts the story of the expedition.”

  “It must be fascinating.”

  He shook his head. “A dangerous place, to be certain. The chapter I just finished relates how one of the clerks fell overboard at night, and before he could be rescued, he was devoured by a school of predatory fish.”

  “A river shark?”

  “No, it was described as a mass of small fish. Like brook trout, or even smaller. But a giant school that tore the poor soul apart as his companions watched helplessly.”

  It was not a pretty tale. Indeed, it was not one fit to be shared with a genteel young lady. But rather than looking appalled, Miss Somerville appeared fascinated.

  “You must give me the name of the book,” she said. “I wish to learn everything I can before I make my own voyages of discovery.”

  She would not last a week in the wilds of Brazil. Indeed, he was surprised she had lasted for a month of the London season. She was that most terrifying creature of all, an innocent who had no sense of self-preservation. No wonder her father had despaired of her making the logical choice and accepting Stephen’s offer of marriage.

  “That day is still some time away,” Stephen said. “And in the meantime, there is still your reputation to be considered.”

  “I have said I do not care for it,” Miss Somerville replied. “I only went to London to make Mama happy. I have no wish to return.”

  “You have younger sisters, do you not? Six of them?”

  “Yes. Mary is a year my junior, and then there is Chloe, Julia, Elizabeth, Annabelle, and Emily is the youngest. She has just turned eight.”

  “Then, it is not just your reputation that will suffer,” Stephen said. “When Mary makes her curtsy to society, your conduct will reflect upon her.”

  He did not know why he was doing this. A part of him knew he should acc
ept her refusal and simply take his leave and count himself lucky on making his escape. But he could not do that. Whether she knew it or not, Miss Somerville was a true innocent and in need of his protection. Now it was up to him to convince her to accept it.

  “Surely once they get to know Mary, they will realize that she is a sweet and biddable girl and judge her on her own merits,” Miss Somerville said. But her voice lacked conviction.

  “Society is swift to judge and slow to forget,” Stephen said. “They will look at Mary and wonder how long it will be before she follows her sister down the road of indiscretion.”

  “Then, what do you suggest? I will not marry you,” she declared.

  But he had expected that. “We do not need to be married. A simple engagement will suffice. Then in six months’ time, your father will send a notice to the papers calling it off. Society will assume that you have changed your mind, and they will be none the wiser.”

  “And this is what you want?”

  He did not know what he wanted. The path of duty and honor had seemed so clear this morning. But that had been before he met Miss Somerville. Now he was no longer certain of anything.

  “Honor demands I do no less,” he said, falling back upon platitudes.

  Miss Somerville looked at him steadily, as if she could see through to his very soul. He forced his face to remain calm, revealing none of his inner doubts.

  “Then, I agree. But we will tell my parents of the pretense. I will not have them disappointed when I break this off,” Miss Somerville said.

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “To make this work, we will have to appear in public together. It would be best if you returned to London.”

  “I suppose it would not hurt. A few weeks should suffice, and then we can return to our separate lives, and everything will go on as before,” Miss Somerville said.

  “It will be as you wish,” Stephen said.

  Three

  Papa took the news of her sham engagement in good spirits, commending her on showing good sense for once. Perhaps he was simply relieved that lasting scandal could be averted. He had been very good about the whole affair, really. Well, except for when he had fired her maid, thinking that poor Sally was somehow to blame. But even there he had relented, eventually agreeing to send Sally two months’ wages for her troubles, along with a fine letter of recommendation. But all in all, he had been far kinder to her than many a father would have been. Some fathers would have beaten their daughters for having ruined their good name, regardless of the daughter’s innocence.

  But, as Diana had expected, her mother was confused about the whole arrangement.

  “I do not understand,” Mama said. “Are you to be married or are you not?”

  “Mama,” Diana began. “It is all perfectly plain. You see—”

  “If I may,” Lord Endicott broke in smoothly. “Miss Somerville has agreed that I may tell the world of our engagement. That should squash any unfortunate rumors that may be spreading. Then, come autumn, should she wish to be freed from her promise, I would of course accept her decision.”

  “I see,” Mama said, her brow furrowed in thought. “A sort of trial engagement as it were.”

  “Precisely,” Lord Endicott said.

  Mama nodded, as if the viscount had made everything clear with his words, when Diana had been trying unsuccessfully to explain the very same thing for the past quarter hour.

  “And if Diana decides she wishes to marry you after all?” her father asked.

  “Don’t talk nonsense,” Diana said firmly.

  Lord Endicott looked at her and lifted one eyebrow, as if taken aback by her blunt speech. “If she chooses to go forward with this marriage, then it would be my honor to become her husband.”

  Now it was her father’s turn to nod and stroke his chin thoughtfully.

  Really it was most infuriating. For years she had been presumed capable to speak for herself. And now this stranger was in her home for barely an hour, and merely because he was a gentleman, her parents listened to him respectfully and deferred to his wishes. Simply because he was a man. This was why she was so opposed to marriage. Mary Wollstonecraft was right. Marriage was a trap for a woman, taking away her rights and subjecting her to the capricious will of her husband. No intelligent female would enter into such an institution unless forced to by the pressures of society.

  She had half a mind to call this whole engagement off. But then she remembered Mary. Her sister was as conventional as she was pretty. Mary dreamed longingly of her own London season and the handsome beaus who would court her there. Diana did not understand her sister, but she loved her dearly. If the sham engagement would restore Diana’s reputation and let Mary enjoy her own season, then she would go through with it.

  There would be time enough for Diana to live her own life after Mary was safely launched upon society. And once Diana left England upon her adventures, there would be no risk of her younger sisters being tarnished by anything that Diana might choose to do.

  “We are fortunate that it is only May, and that the season has several weeks to run,” Lord Endicott was saying. “Once we return to London there will be plenty of time to establish the fact of our engagement.”

  “But I do not want to go to London,” Diana said. She knew she sounded like a whining child, but she spoke only the truth. Even before that disastrous night, she had not enjoyed herself in London. The other young ladies had been cruel to her once they learned of her outlandish views. And the gentlemen her mother’s friends introduced her to were inevitably straight-laced and boring, or young men so full of admiration for themselves that they barely noticed that Diana was in the same room with them.

  George Wright had been the exception. From the first she had thought him a kindred spirit. A free thinker, who rebelled against the petty tyrannies of polite society, just as she longed to do. His reputation was not the best, but she had put that down to narrow-minded gossip. His attentions had surprised her, and she had flattered herself that he was attracted to her for her mind. And then, of course, he had proven that he was naught but a lecherous rake.

  “If we are going to do this, we must do this right,” Lord Endicott said. “A short stay in London should suffice. We will make our appearance at a few public events, and then when the season is over, we will part our ways.”

  “For myself, I have no wish to return. And we have already given up the lease on the house,” her father said.

  But Lord Endicott had anticipated that objection. “There is no need to trouble yourself,” he said. “I have a house on Chesterfield Hill that should suit your needs. It is a good size, with a half dozen bedrooms and a large drawing room should you wish to entertain. And the staff is excellent.”

  She wondered why a viscount would happen to have a house in London that he was not using in the height of the London season when fashionable properties were as scarce as hen’s teeth.

  “Is it your mistress’s house?” Diana asked.

  “Diana Somerville,” her mother exclaimed, blushing at her daughter’s impertinence.

  But Lord Endicott grinned, an expression that made him look years younger. Diana realized that he was actually a handsome man.

  “It is mine, actually,” he explained. “But I will move back to the family residence in Grosvenor Square. It is much larger and will be suitable for our engagement ball.”

  She felt control of the situation slipping away from her. “I did not agree to a ball,” she said.

  “It is expected,” Lord Endicott explained. “And London will not be so bad. There are museums and exhibitions that you may attend. Not to mention that Henry Richman is planning a series of lectures on his experiences in the Amazon.”

  “Is he the one that you were telling me of?”

  “Mr. Richman led the exhibition, yes. It was his assistant, an unfortunate gentleman named Watkins, who was eaten by the carnivorous fish.”

  Diana beamed happily. “I cannot wait,” she said. “I have a thous
and questions I want to ask him.”

  Lord Endicott rose. “Then, it is settled. I will send the notice to the papers and alert the staff at Chesterfield Hill to expect your arrival,” he said.

  Stephen returned to the inn in a thoughtful mood. He still did not understand why he had insisted so strongly that Miss Somerville agree to the pretense of an engagement. And yet, having seen her, he could not imagine simply leaving her, knowing that she would bear the brunt of the scandal that George had caused. She was too good a person to deserve such a fate.

  As he entered the room assigned to him, his valet, Josiah, looked up from the stack of freshly laundered cravats that he was pressing.

  “Congratulate me, Josiah, I am to be married. I think,” he said.

  Josiah looked up at him from under his bushy eyebrows, but did not pause in his ironing. “And what does the young lady say to all this?”

  “The young lady has her doubts,” Stephen said. There was no point in keeping secrets from Josiah, who knew him as well as he knew himself. “But she has agreed to announce our engagement, to give the scandal time to die down.”

  “And Master George?”

  Stephen’s mood darkened at the reminder of his half brother. “My brother’s behavior is not a topic I care to discuss,” he said. “Let us just say that the miserable cur is fortunate that he is far out of my reach, for I am sorely tempted to teach him a lesson he would never forget.”

  Indeed, if George were to appear at the door this moment, Stephen would be hard pressed not to thrash his brother to within an inch of his life. Not that such a beating would do anything to curb George’s wildness or restore Miss Somerville’s reputation. But still, there was a primitive part of him that longed for such satisfaction.

  “I plan to stay here for another day or two and become better acquainted with my fiancée and her family,” Stephen said. If they had any hope to carry off the pretense of an engagement, then they could not afford to appear as complete strangers. No, instead, this must appear to be a love match. “When the Somervilles return to London, I will go with them.”