Page 30 of A Kiss Gone Wylde
“He is not a scoundrel. He is a baron,” she replied. “And yes, we have married, and no we do not plan to alter that at any point in the near future. Do we, Payne?” She hated that her voice sounded less than confident there at the end.
“Most assuredly not,” he seconded.
That did not mollify her father at all. “I do not care if he’s the Prince Regent! A man does not simply marry another man’s daughter without so much as a by your leave… not a man of honor at any rate!” He appeared to be ready to throttle the both of them.
For herself, Benny had been too much at the whims of men for one day. It sparked her temper and, as always, it got the better of her. “And when that daughter does something so terribly foolish that she risks not only her reputation but that of her sister and cousin, as well? I put myself in a situation that was fraught with danger and could only lead to ruin and I did so willfully,” she snapped. “I was fortunate enough that this very kind and very honorable man happened upon me when he did!”
Her father blustered. “Kind? Honorable? He has ruined you, Benedicta. Because of his actions you have become a laughing stock! Not even that, for no one is laughing. Everyone will turn their backs on us. A hasty marriage cannot fix everything!”
Benny was well aware of that fact, but she also knew that her married state was certainly a help. “Had he not married me so hastily, I cannot even begin to imagine what I might have had to endure. But in the process of saving my life, my reputation was compromised. Very publicly, I might add. And you are correct that marriage will not alter that fact, but it should curb the damage to some degree.”
Her father started to shout again, but Benny simply held up her hand. “No, Father. While I certainly hate to pull rank, so to speak, I do now outrank you… as does my husband. And this is our home. At present, you are a guest here. I will say this last thing and then the matter is settled. Social ruin is a kind of agony that people in our world cannot even fathom, though I am beginning to think we have terribly skewed priorities. Payne certainly did not have to offer marriage to spare me that fate, but he did. As to the hastiness, we married soexpeditiouslyto prevent the scandal from further diminishing Cordelia’s and Charity’s chances of making a match this season. It was the only way. You may yell as you wish, but there is nothing that has been done which can be undone.”
Her father drew back, almost as if she had struck him. Never in her life had she stood up to him in such a way. She’d simply let him rant endlessly as he tried to bully them into whatever it was he wanted, always with the best of intentions, of course. He wasn’t a bad father or a bad man. He was simply a man, and they all took being obeyed as their right regardless.
And, always, when he was done with his rants, she’d very quietly go behind him and do precisely as she pleased. That had hardly been a secret. He’d known and he’d never said a word. There was more blustering and barking than biting. It was simply the way things worked between all of them. She’d simply never barked or bitten back so obviously.
“Benedicta, you will not speak to me so!”
“And you will not speak to me so,” she insisted. Her situation was difficult and uncertain enough without having to face parental recrimination and disapproval. “This is not what I intended. It certainly has had far reaching consequences that I could not have imagined. But we are, all of us, doing the very best we can to get past it,” Benny said. She felt like stamping her foot for emphasis but knew that would only give weight to her father’s tendency to treat her like a small, misbehaving child.
“Sir,” Payne said. “Let us take this discussion to the library. There is no need for us to stand here shouting in the entry hall like bailiffs come to collect.”
“That’s not—” her father stopped speaking as her mother stepped forward and placed her hand on his arm.
“Thomas, go with the man. All this yelling is terrible for my nerves,” her mother said, her voice soft and slightly tremulous. As always, she sounded fragile and on the verge of collapse.
“Mother, come have a seat in the drawing room,” Benny said, reaching out for her mother’s hand. “You do not look well.”
“My girl,youdo not look well. You are quite disheveled!” Her mother said with dismay.
“I’ll tell you everything,” Benny lied. She most certainly would not. Her mother would spend the better part of the evening and well into the next day in a dead faint. Or rather, in a series of them. “We shall leave the men to sort out their parts in it all. That’s what they prefer, isn’t it? To make all of the decisions about our lives with no input from those who must bear the consequences.”
* * *
“I wanted my daughters to marry for love. Notexpedience,” Benny’s father accused sharply. “You’ve taken that from her.”
Payne moved to a small table in the library and retrieved a decanter of brandy conveniently placed there, along with two glasses. He filled both of them liberally and then carried one to the man who would now be his father-in-law. In all of that, he didn’t dispute what the man had said. He hadn’t intended to deprive Benny of anything. But circumstances being what they were, he’d had no choice. Neither had Benny. Of course, that didn’t alter the fact that she would never marry for love now. Whatever transpired between them going forward, their origin would never be one of romance and fairy tales. It would always be necessity and self protection. “Had Benny and I not married, sir, I can assure you that she would have had no forthcoming offers,” Payne stated very bluntly. “She was caught on the Dark Walk at Vauxhall—alone with a gentleman.”
“You. She was caught with you.”
Payne sighed. “She was, but it was not an intended meeting. There was no improper assignation planned. In fact, she did not go there to meet anyone. It was all a dreadful misunderstanding for Benny on precisely what sort of activities take place at Vauxhall. She imagined far more innocent entertainments and a harmless adventure. Unfortunately, she learned differently rather quickly. Another man, one who claimed the title of gentleman but had done naught to deserve it, accosted her.”
It was the first time Thomas Wylde had nothing to say. He simply stared stoically ahead for the longest time.
Payne continued, “In my efforts to get Benny out of that situation and to safety, we encountered a crowd of people who had been drawn by her earlier screams. If there had been another way, sir, we would have seized on it. I would not have had Benny married to someone she did not wish to be with, nor would I have ever wished for her to enter a loveless marriage.”
“And her dowry had nothing to do with it? I may not have a title, sir, but I am far from being a pauper. Both of my daughters are well set for life. Having no entailments to hinder me, I have made certain that they and their children will never want.”
Payne, under any other circumstances, might have been offended. But the man was trying to ascertain the certainty of his daughter’s future happiness so a bit of lassitude was warranted. “I have no need of Benny’s dowry. You may set it in trust for any children she and I are blessed to have, but I am not in a position where I must worry about the wealth my bride brings into our marriage.”
“Can you provide any assurances of her happiness?”
Payne shook his head. “No one can do such a thing if they lay claim to honesty. I like Benny. I more than like her. We have been married a short time and already I have a very deep affection for her. But more than that, I respect her. She is brave—fearless, even—intelligent, lovelier than she can even conceive of, and she has a kind and compassionate nature that is tempered with a realism I find admirable. ”And he literally could not keep his hands off her, but that was hardly something he needed to inform her father of.
“And many character flaws as well. She has a formidable temper,” her father said.
Payne couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face. In spite of everything that had transpired, it had been a glorious thing to behold when his tiny bride had sent Wainwright hurtling to the bottom of the stairs. “That she does, sir. That she most assuredly does. But I wouldn’t call it a flaw.”
