The Countess Page 0,23

keep George's body for a couple of days while you find out her true nature and if you find you cannot stomach the idea of being married to her, we can just drop George back in your bed to be found dead, and go the legal route after al

."

"George's body." Richard's eyes widened as he recal ed that little problem.

Oddly enough, he hadn't considered it when Daniel had first made the suggestion.

"Yes," Daniel said dryly. "If you decide to take a day or two to find out, we shal have to be sure to leave before the ladies, make our way to your townhouse, and snatch his body from the bed before they see it is stil there."

"We should get it done now," Richard announced and began making his way around the bal room toward the doors.

"So, you're going to give it a try?" Daniel asked, hurrying after him.

"What choice do I have? I would prefer not to ruin an innocent if I can help it, but I also don't want to land myself in a miserable marriage just to make up for George's sins. We'l do as you suggested, and remove the body for the next day or two while I see if I could stomach being married to her. If not, we wil replace him and go to the courts."

"And if you find you are wil ing to be married to her?" Daniel asked. "What wil we do with the body then?"

"I haven't the foggiest notion," Richard admitted dryly. "But we wil worry about that if and when the time comes."

"He just left with Woodrow."

Christiana gave up searching the bal room for Dicky and glanced back to Langley. "Did he?"

He nodded solemnly and then asked, "Wil you be very upset if it turns out that Dicky is George?"

Christiana glanced away with a frown, those few moments in her husband's arms on the dance floor the first thing to come into her mind. Any other memory of this last year would have had her saying, no she wouldn't be upset at al , but that one

. . . Sighing, she simply said, "The scandal wil be horrendous."

"Yes, wel , we might be able to mitigate that," Langley murmured as he turned her around the dance floor.

"How do you mean?"

Robert was silent for so long that she began to think that he wouldn't answer, but apparently deciding it was unavoidable, he said reluctantly, "I knew one of George's old mistresses and she said he could not . . ." He paused and looked embarrassed, but then said, "I am sorry to ask this, Chrissy, but was the marriage properly consummated?"

Christiana's eyes widened incredulously at the question and he grimaced and began to speak quickly.

"I real y am sorry to ask it, but if George was incapable of the task as his mistress suggested, then it makes al the difference in the world."

Christiana stared at him blankly. "Wel . . . I - he - I think it - I don't know," she admitted, now scarlet herself. She shrugged helplessly and confessed,

"I'm not quite sure what the consummation includes. Father simply said 'Just do what he says and your husband wil manage the rest.' I did as he said and assumed what Dicky did was the consummation."

"Of course," he muttered, avoiding her eyes briefly, then cleared his throat. "You said he didn't even take off his cravat on your wedding night, but did he take off anything else?"

She considered the question briefly, and then offered, "I think he took off his shoes."

Langley grimaced impatiently. "What about his pants? Did he take them off or at least open them or pul them down?"

"I don't think so," she said slowly.

"You don't think so?" he asked incredulously. "Were you even there? How could you not know if he took off his pants or not?"

Christiana scowled, half angry and half embarrassed, and then glanced around to be sure none of the other dancers were listening in on the conversation. Reassured that no one appeared to be paying them any attention, she glanced back to Langley and hissed, "I was bathed and powdered, dressed in a gown and propped in bed and then he came in and put out the candle. There was a thud and then another I assumed was his shoes hitting the floor and then he climbed on top of me, rocked about a bit as if riding a horse, then rol ed off and said, "There. It is consummated." I have no