Page 77 of His Mistress, His Muse, and Other Madness
Pentshire’s head shot up. “Because Maria’s not ready to face the ton yet. She was raised as a farmer’s daughter. And the duke will eviscerate her when he discovers who she is. I had hoped… I had hoped a party would give her an opportunity to learn how to be a countess. And a coterie of artists would provide guests who were less morally… uptight, who would not care so much about her seeming lack of position here. I knew it was a horrid idea.”
Theo leaned into the back of the chair with a groan, knitting his hands together behind his head. “You mean this whole thing is about protecting your wife? It’s a farce, man. A damn horrible idea.”
“I know.”
“What does Cordelia have to do with this?” Theo asked.
“I saw her off this morning.”
Theo’s muscles bunched, ready to throw a fist in the man’s face for helping Cordelia flee, but he clenched his jaw and settled. For now. Waited.
“She said something curious and abrupt to me before she left. She said that if I cared for Maria, I’d make sure she didn’t suffer from gossip as she had.”
“Good lord.” Theo scratched his hands through his hair, threw back the rest of the whisky. “More?”
The earl replenished both their glasses. They downed them at the same time.
“I didn’t think much of it at first. Except that it was odd, but then I thought of that arse Bradley and his cronies. Of his treatment of Lady Cordelia and how even after he assaulted her, he still had friends who condoned his actions, and I realized—”
“You mucked it up.”
“Yes,” he groaned. “I was trying to save her, protect her, but by hiding our marriage, I’ve made it even worse. Maria hasknownthis, but she’s not said a thing. Didn’t want to upset me. And I didn’t know that until this morning when I asked her about it. And I… I don’t know how to fix it.” Pentshire sank so low in his seat, he almost fell out of it. His arse hung on to the chair’s edge by a thread of his well-tailored trousers.
Hell. Cordelia had been right.
Theo pressed his fingers into his eyebrows, trying to press his thoughts into line. “Why are you telling me all of this?”
“Because you’re in love with a woman the world finds unsuitable, too. You’ll understand.” The gaunt despair of Pentshire’s face softened only a bit with a weak ray of hope. The man was innocent and optimistic as Cordelia. Especially if he thought to be chummy with Theo over love.
He opened his mouth to deny it. He wasn’t in love.
But he was. He couldn’t force a denial up his throat. He could never live that lie, never breathe the air he’d spoken the words into.
He snapped to standing, a curse on his lips.
Pentshire pushed to sit upright. “What do I do?”
“First”—Theo stabbed a finger in the other man’s direction—“stop being a damn hypocrite.” Pentshire shot to his feet, hands becoming indignant fists at his side. Theo stalked forward “I heard your wife yelling. She doesn’t want secrecy. She’s ready to face the danger, to be herself. Sure seems like you’re the one worried about reputation. Hers? Or your own?”
Pentshire’s face curled up in a snarl. Then dropped. “Hell. I’m an arse. What do I do?”
“You’re asking the wrong man. But if I were you, and the woman I loved wanted me just as I was, I’d want her back. Without a single change to her. I’d rather face the jeers of the ton than the graveyard of her lost smile. In short, don’t be a damn coward. If you love her, let her be herself.” He made for the door. “I’m returning to London. Now.”
Pentshire scrambled after him as he entered the hallway. “What willyoudo?”
Find Cordelia. Easier to focus on what the earl should do. “You will host a big bloody wedding.” Theo couldn’t. Not even his brother Raph, the marquess, had had a big wedding. He and his wife had married quietly in the chapel at Briarcliff.Economicallyat the chapel in Briarcliff. If—when—Theo married, he would as well. But the earl, the earl could afford a statement. A grand gesture. “Host the largest wedding possible with as many tonnish guests as you can muster. A good many will cut you and side with the duke. But don’t show any shame. Let them pick sides.” It’s what Theo would do. Never show shame. “She’s not something to be ashamed of. The only shame should be the duke’s. And listen here.” He stopped, turned, and stood nose to nose, cravat to cravat, with Pentshire. “You let everyone see how much you adore her. Never falter. Do you understand?”
Pentshire nodded, eyes wide. “Yes. Of course.”
Theo strode away. “And no more damn house parties!”
He wound his way upstairs, packed his bags, and sent for a carriage. If he didn’t catch up to Cordelia on the road, he’d catch up to her in London. No reason to stay here any longer. The scandal of the year… no scandal at all. A man who loved his wife acted the fool about it. No news there.
He should be glad he’d discovered the truth before publishing a falsehood. But the truth proved a sharp weapon, and now that it was pointed at him, he feared the damage it might do—had done—to the thing of beauty he and Cordelia had created between them. Because much like Pentshire, he’d mucked it up and had to find a way to make it right.
Twenty-One
Cordelia had fully expected Theo to stop her coach like a highwayman the entire ride to London. But either he never caught up with her, or he had never left.
