Two Wrongs Make a Marriage. Christine Merrill
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the man that greeted them when they entered the great hall seemed spry enough. He was healthy, well groomed and barely past middle age. He was also smiling broadly at Thea and gave no evidence of debilitating grief.
She could see from the first why he might have chosen Jack to imitate his heir. Though the resemblance was not strong, their blond hair, straight noses and sparkling blue eyes were close enough to alike that it was not hard to believe them father and son.
‘Jack.’ Spayne stepped forwards to clap the back of the mock Kenton, as though there were nothing strange or unfamiliar about him. ‘Back from London at last and with your lovely bride. Let me have a look at the girl.’ He stepped away again, turning to Thea and giving her a thorough, head-to-toe examination before holding out his hands to her in what seemed to be a sincere gesture of welcome. ‘My dear Cynthia.’
‘Lord Spayne.’ Her knees buckled instinctively into a curtsy and her head bowed in respect, even as she reminded herself that the man had been instrumental in her recent undoing. No matter her personal feelings about his scheme, he was a peer and her training would permit nothing less than total respect.
He took her hands and lifted her back to face him, beaming. ‘You were certainly right in your letters, Jack. She is magnificent.’
Jack cleared his throat as though embarrassed to be caught in praise of her. ‘I said she was well suited to your needs.’
Without looking away from her, Spayne corrected him. ‘That is not what you said at all.’
‘I think, if you were to read the letter again—’ Jack said, sounding rather desperate.
Spayne cut him off. ‘Sometimes it is better to read between the lines to find the meaning. Yours was quite clear. The girl is a great beauty, you were smitten and so you presented her as the logical choice for my needs.’
‘That is not at all what I …’ For the first time, her faux husband seemed totally out of countenance, and perhaps a little in awe of the man before him.
The earl held up a finger. ‘I do not blame you for it. One has but to see her to understand.’ But he did not understand at all. As Jack had taken pains to remind her, she was not the daughter he had wanted at all. After all the effort she had taken to be otherwise, it was distressing to be such a disappointment to the father of the man she had thought to marry. Rank and honours aside, he did seem to be a most personable gentleman.
Beside her, Jack cleared his throat again. ‘My lord. If we could speak in private for a moment. The situation has grown rather complicated.’
The earl looked at him with a tip of the head.
Jack glanced around to make sure the servants were not so close as to overhear. ‘After our wedding, I had a most enlightening talk with Cyn’s father. It seems I misunderstood much of our courtship. The man was seeking a settlement from me.’
There was an agonising silence in the room, as Spayne contemplated the meaning of that. Thea held her breath, waiting. His response, when it came, was not the angry outburst that she feared. The man blanched white, his welcoming smile frozen on his face. He said nothing. And though she felt an almost convulsive tightening on her hands, he did not release them.
Jack continued. ‘I have explained to my lady wife much of my recent history. But I think further discussion is necessary.’
That pause continued a moment longer, then Spayne seemed to thaw, returning almost to the lively gentleman he had been only a few moments ago. ‘Things have not gone to plan, have they?’ He gave a slight sigh and released her hands. ‘But that is the way of things, in my experience. They are never what they seem.’
‘I agree,’ Jack said, with a touch of asperity.
‘No matter. It cannot be helped.’ Spayne’s response was firm, and showed no judgement against her, though it seemed to hold some unspoken warning to Jack. ‘Let us go into the library. There is an open brandy bottle and a stout door to keep the world at bay. Just the way I like things.’ Absently, the earl wandered towards a door to the left and Jack followed at his heels.
They would retire to the library to decide her fate and she would be excluded from the decision. Miss Pennyworth had assured her that it was a woman’s lot to be treated thus, hammering away at her unfortunate tendency to behave as her mother might, insinuating herself into the situation, offering opinions and speaking altogether too much.
But it irked Thea that she was to be at the mercy of the scheming men who had hatched the plan that had got her married to Kenton. They had also left no instruction as to what she must do while they retreated. The least they might have done was call for a maid to take her to a parlour for a small glass of ratafia to steady her nerves.
Then, the earl, who was framed in the doorway of what must be his sanctum, glanced back at her and gestured. It was the merest twitch of a finger, inviting her to follow. ‘You must be a part of this discussion, my dear. After all, you are family now.’ There was no irony at all in his voice.
Perhaps that meant he was a better actor than Jack.
Thea hesitated, then followed a step or two behind, as the earl led them to the library and closed the doors behind them. It was a comfortable room full of well-used books and deep soft furniture, almost Oriental in its opulence. She had the impression that this place, rather than a more formal study or office, was where Lord Spayne spent the majority of his time. ‘Come, sit. Refreshment, Jack?’ He gestured to the decanter. ‘It is rather early. But I think, under the circumstances, a good stiff drink is in order.’
Jack looked longingly at the bottle—and then refused. It surprised Thea. Of the many qualities he possessed, she would not have counted self-denial as one of them. It seemed that being in the presence of Lord Spayne intimidated him. Or rather, that he treated the man with the sort of respect an actual son might give to a beloved father.
‘My dear?’ Spayne looked at her now. ‘Do you enjoy brandy? Or something weaker, perhaps.’
‘No, thank you, my lord.’ Now that the man had made the offer, her desire for a restorative vanished. It put her quite in sympathy with Jack. If there was to be punishment for the muddle they had made, better to get the truth out of the way quickly and have the drink after.
‘Very well, then.’ He turned to Jack. ‘I sent you to marry for money. It seems you have failed and married for love instead.’
‘No, my lord. Not love, certainly.’ Jack was waving his hands in denial, as though embarrassed at the idea that he had failed so completely in following what should have been simple instructions.
‘Infatuation, then. But I do not blame you. I know, more than many, of the dangers one treads when following the call of one’s own heart. Only one question remains: what is to be done now?’
Jack seemed to relax a little, once he was sure of the earl’s mood. ‘There is more. The lady, herself, is in distress. She married me, expecting your money to rescue her family from difficulties caused by your brother.’
‘Damn!’ It was the first time she’d seen Spayne act with anything less than aplomb and it startled her. Then his calm returned. ‘I am sorry, my dear. But it upsets me to know that my brother has caused you bother. Henry is a villain and has been so for as long as I can remember. It is bad enough that he gives me trouble, but unforgivable that he hurts others. If you could explain the nature of the problem, I will find a way to rectify it.’
‘But Jack said you could not.’
‘It does not matter what Jack said, or that I have no fortune left to spare. Henry is my brother and my responsibility.’ His words should have encouraged her, but suddenly Spayne looked a little older than he had when she had come into the room. It made her feel bad for burdening him. ‘Please, tell me what he has done now.’
Jack gave an encouraging nod and Thea sighed. ‘He has swindled my father out of a great deal of money. And though I have pleaded with him to relent, he has refused.’
‘He