A Scandalous Bargain (The Pretenders #2) - Darcy Burke Page 0,15
that to the ton. Speculation is already rampant.”
Thomas pressed a finger to his temple. “Why?”
“You’re titled, wealthy, handsome as sin, and you need a wife to mother your child as well as an heir. There are also wagers, which I’m sure you’re aware of.”
He wasn’t, actually, but he could well imagine. People were ruthless. “Those mean nothing to me.”
“Of course they don’t. I only mention them to say that people are expecting you to wed again soon.” She shrugged. “If you wanted to, you could.”
Thomas saw through her. And, frankly, he was rather shocked. “You want me to.”
“I want you to be happy,” she said firmly. “Wed, don’t wed, just do what you must to find comfort. Promise me? You know how much I love you.”
He did, but that didn’t mean he wanted her input about this part of his life. “Regan and I are just fine, as you well know.”
“I can see my counsel is not needed in this area.” She lifted her hands in surrender. “You’ll let me know if I can help in any way?”
“Yes.” Thomas thought of the other woman who’d given him aid. Miss Whitford hadn’t returned since Monday evening. And he’d looked for her every night.
“Will you tell me your plans?” Aunt Charity asked.
“As soon as I have some.” For now he would do what he’d always done—focus on his daughter and his responsibilities as viscount. Again, he thought of Miss Whitford.
He couldn’t imagine how she could be part of his plans.
“Thomas.” Aunt Charity exhaled his name, and though she said nothing else, the word was both full of question and rife with concern. “Forgive me, but I worry about you.” She always had. “I can’t tell how you feel about all this. Are you sad? Relieved? Concealing your joy?” She waved her hand. “Forget I said the last. Of course you aren’t happy.”
No, but if he were honest with himself, he was relieved. He no longer had to worry about protecting Regan from her mother’s rages. And he no longer had to suffer them himself.
“No matter how awful Thea was, she didn’t deserve to die,” he said softly. “It’s…a terrible situation. I honestly don’t know how I’m supposed to feel.” So he was choosing to feel nothing. It wasn’t difficult. Aside from his daughter, he’d learned to bury all emotion over the past five years. Even that hadn’t been hard, because he’d first done it at the age of ten when his mother had died.
Perhaps he was meant to direct all his feelings toward Regan. No, not all of them, just the good ones. The rest he buried. When he didn’t, bad things happened, such as his wife dying.
“You’ll stay for dinner, I hope? Regan will want to see you, and she is napping at present.”
“Yes, of course. Is there correspondence I can help with in the meantime?”
“Absolutely.” He smiled at her. “Now that fills me with relief.”
She smiled widely in return. “There’s my boy. Just tell me what you need.”
“You can use the desk there.” He gestured to the writing desk in the corner near the front window. “There are many notes of condolence, but also some social invitations that arrived either before she died or before her death was known. I suppose you should respond to those, unless people will assume I won’t be coming.”
“I’ll respond. As I said, no one will fault you for going out, not when you’re seen as needing a wife. They may, in fact, expect you to come.”
Thomas rose. “I’ll fetch everything and bring it here.”
She nodded, and he turned to go. “Oh, I did take care of your request regarding Almack’s. And I hope you’ll tell me who Miss Whitford and Lady Gresham are to you.”
“Thank you.” Thomas didn’t look back at her before taking off to his study.
As he gathered the correspondence, one of the missives caught his eye. It was an invitation to a ball to celebrate the engagement of Mr. Henry Sheffield and Lady Gresham. Thomas read the details. It was a masquerade.
His aunt’s words flooded his mind. He could go…
He set the invitation aside and took the rest to Aunt Charity.
There was a dampness in the air that presaged rain. Beatrix glanced up at the night sky and silently begged it to remain dry. Just for an hour or so. Perhaps a trifle longer.
She probably should not have ventured out, but she hadn’t been able to resist. Now that she was in possession of a voucher to Almack’s as well as