An Affair of Honor (Rebel Hearts Book 2) Read online

  “A marriage without love is no marriage at all.”

  “Is that why you and your second wife live apart now? Because you are so deeply in love with each other? You squabble constantly over the littlest things.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Why do you think Matilda and I are not in love?”

  He didn’t love Matilda of course, nor would he admit it if he did, but his father’s comments made him curious.

  “Passion!” he cried out. “I know you disapprove of it. It’s obvious she flattered you when your defenses were down, made herself indispensible to ensure you felt you had no choice but to propose marriage just to have her. You will see her true colors once you are out in society. She will cost you a fortune and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”

  William wanted to roll his eyes. He’d actually be happy to spend a little money on Matilda, but George Ford was so obsessed with being in love that he could not see the good he could do. He was quite sickening around his second wife, his half sisters’ mother, and he made sure to spend as little time with them as possible. If he were ever in love, he would not behave like his father.

  “The only regret I have is not offering for her sooner,” he added, embellishing a little more on their love affair than might be needed. He was dealing with a hopeless romantic. His father would never be satisfied with a curt statement of her suitability. “She is perfect for me and very beautiful.”

  He stared his father down until his shoulders sagged in defeat. Finally.

  His father spared him a withering glance. “When you are ready to talk sense, you will find me at home.”

  George Ford stalked out, leaving his daughters and father behind. William rubbed over the scar on his face. He shared very little in common with his father, who lived too impulsively for his taste. He had always been more reserved than the rest of his family, finding their public displays of emotion uncomfortable to bear. He was not about to change. Not for anyone.

  William poured himself a drink and silently toasted his success at overcoming yet another obstacle. He had freedom from marriage-minded misses. He had his life to live. Now all he wanted was a willing woman of his own and he’d be very happy indeed.

  Six

  Matilda settled into a drawing room chair, the same one she’d beaten the dust from this morning, and waited for the other shoe to drop. It was just a matter of time.

  The Chudleighs had quickly taken their leave she’d heard, the woman utterly devastated by William’s announcement of his surprise marriage. A very great lie indeed. Miss Chudleigh’s tears had seemed very real, but Captain Ford had not been moved by the woman’s outpouring of heartbreak.

  Not that Matilda had expected him to be kind after the way the woman had reacted to his scar.

  She was a little worried about the scorn in Lord George Ford’s eyes when he’d looked her over and how he might treat his son. She knew the captain had a temper, but she didn’t know if he’d inherited the trait from his father.

  She was also a little overwhelmed by the reactions to this false marriage. The captain’s sisters seemed to think William must be in love with her, which of course they said had to be the reason he would marry her.

  Matilda heard the unsaid “stoop” in that statement and gritted her teeth at the near slight.

  Although the marriage was false, their presumption annoyed her as much as William Ford’s obvious expectation that she’d fall in with the change to his scheme without voicing one single complaint about being so badly used.

  She was glad she’d made a bargain with the captain for a house and sum of money after this disastrous affair was over. She’d never keep a maid’s position in any household now. William Ford had made her unemployable unless she assumed another name.

  How could he imagine she had any ability to pretend to be his wife?

  She did not know him that well!

  Or want to.

  The duke settled in a nearby chair with a groan and his refilled glass. He studied her, his expression inscrutable. “I swear the journey from Newberry grows longer each time I make it.”

  Having no idea of Newberry Park’s exact location, Matilda clenched her hands together in her lap and nodded politely. The duke had always been kind when he’d visited, but she believed William’s actions today would not please him in the end. “You wanted to see me?”

  She glanced around quickly, wondering why the captain’s sisters had disappeared. “Yes,” he said slowly. “Both of you actually, but William appears to have become delayed, no doubt because of his father. They do bump heads over every little thing.”

  Matilda nodded but decided it best to keep the rest of her opinions to herself. This marriage was not such a little thing. There was the threat of very real scandal. Lord George Ford could have more than a few words to say to his son in private, and none of them would be kind about his marriage to a maid.

  “We owe you a debt of gratitude for the care you have devoted to my grandson, but I had been uncertain of how to repay you. I had thought a stipend appropriate, or something to that effect.”

  She blushed. Caring for Captain Ford after the first tension-filled weeks had been relatively easy. She had helped him eat what food he could manage to swallow to keep his strength up, cleaned the wound, and made sure he never scratched when his face itched. She had even bound his hands together late one night at his silent insistence when the itch of the healing wound had been driving him to distraction.

  “I did what seemed best at the time,” she murmured.

  He sat forward. “You believed William would survive when men of science had grave doubts.”

  “I believed in the captain’s stubborn nature above all else, Your Grace,” she replied immediately and without thought for such a remark’s likely reception.

  The duke choked on his whiskey, and the heat of a blush warmed Matilda’s cheeks. Perhaps it wasn’t wise to be so candid. She should not have admitted her employer was too stubborn to die when most would have succumbed to a lesser wound.

  “The housekeeper has been expansive in her description of my grandson’s recovery in her letters, but I must confess I had not believed her suspicion that a romantic relationship existed between you both could possibly be true.”

  Matilda glanced toward the door, hoping for Captain Ford’s return, but could not hear his approach. She would not lie to the duke for him. Not for any number of riches he might bestow upon her. “We have no relationship beyond that of servant and master. It was a mistake.”

  Matilda was awkwardly aware that her dedication to the captain’s recovery had set her apart from the other servants, and she was not surprised Mrs. Young had stirred the pot by relaying the particulars and her unfounded suspicions. Captain Ford’s lie today would make her an utter outsider in the servants’ hall tonight if she hadn’t already been packed to leave this establishment forthwith.

  She gripped her hands together as coldness filled her at the thought of having nowhere to go. What could she do to prevent her dismissal? How low would she have to abase herself so she was not thrown out? “If there is nothing else, I must report to Mrs. Young and continue my work for the day.”

  “You must see that returning to your former position is impossible now,” the duke said slowly. “If I have instilled anything in my grandchildren, it is the belief that servants are not to be toyed with. I would not like to have others believe William acted without honor where you are concerned.”

  Matilda swallowed. “The captain has always been a good employer.”

  Almost always, she silently added.

  “When the message reached me of William’s desperate situation, I knew he’d need the best care. My first thought on reading Mrs. Young’s report of that first night was that she had made the right choice, especially since she mentioned your late father was a medical man.”

  Credit was due to the right person. “It was actually Mr. Dawson, Captain Ford’s valet, who requested I remain with him, Your Grace. Mrs. Yo
ung tried to send me away when the surgeons first hesitated to treat him properly. I insisted they must at least try.”

  “I see.” He shook his head, lips pursing a moment as he studied her. “You went above and beyond anything asked of you, but if scandal is how he means to repay you, then you are very badly treated.”

  She shrugged. “Further delay would have cost him his life, and this will pass.”

  “Perhaps not.” The duke’s expression grew tense. “Dawson is to be commended on his intelligence then in choosing you for William. I understand you didn’t sleep, hardly ate, and cared for William’s needs before your own. I did not anticipate a servant’s sense of duty could reach so far; however, I am happy for it. You should be appropriately compensated for the trouble he’s caused you.”

  “I am glad he has recovered.” Matilda blushed again. She’d never been comfortable with praise and certainly not from a duke. “I expect no compensation for my part in the captain’s recovery, I assure you. ”

  Not when William was already going to provide everything she needed to ensure she and Harry Lloyd could start their marriage in a prosperous fashion far from the scandal of this affair.

  The duke’s eyes narrowed. “I assume that farce downstairs was William’s doing.”

  Matilda nodded quickly. There was no point lying about it when he would be able to find out no marriage had taken place. “Yes, he was concerned about the arrival of Miss Chudleigh. He said his father meant to pressure him into a marriage he didn’t want, so I was to pretend to be in love with him to drive Miss Chudleigh away. Somehow it went terribly wrong, and now they believe I’m his wife.”

  “True.” The duke’s eyes softened. “Under the circumstances, continuing that belief will be necessary to perpetuate. I will not have the family’s name dragged through the scandal sheet over such a lie.”

  Matilda licked her lips. “For how long?”

  The duke grunted, banging his fist onto the arm of the chair. “My grandson claimed that you are man and wife, and that is what you shall be.”

  Matilda stared at him, unable to believe what he might be suggesting. “Are you saying I will have to marry him?”

  “If you do not, everyone will think you soiled goods.”

  “That is not true.” Heat enveloped her cheeks beyond her power to prevent the flush. “I cannot marry him. I am to marry another man.”

  “Oh, so he chased after another man’s woman too,” he said, face contorting with disappointment. “I had assumed there was some partial truth to account for William’s actions, but there you have it. He is exactly like his uncles. I will make arrangements for an expedient wedding immediately.”

  She grew very cold. This surely could not be happening. “I cannot marry Captain Ford.”

  “You are a spinster without means save your employment which you now cannot keep. How will you support yourself, eh? How can I allow my grandson to act without honor? I cannot do it,” the duke said with rising passion. “The situation and scandal will be intolerable for the family. You must marry him. This other fellow, where is he?”

  Matilda stilled her trembling hands. “I don’t know.”

  The duke rolled his eyes. “Are you really going to turn down this generous offer to elevate yourself in society by marrying so well?”

  Silence thickened around her. Was she really trapped, without means to protect her reputation from irreparable harm no matter the path she chose?

  William entered the room at last, boots striking hard across the polished boards. “I won’t be talked out of it.”

  The duke raised a brow. “Is that so?”

  Matilda glanced behind him, but there was no sign now of Lord George Ford or the captain’s sisters following behind.

  “Yes, this is perfect. Maria can turn her scheming little heart elsewhere, and when she’s married, we can go through the motions of announcing our fake marriage was dissolved.”

  “What do you mean, fake marriage?” Evelyn Ford suddenly made an appearance. “You said you were married to Matilda.”

  “And in love,” Audrey said, her eyes accusing him.

  “I did not say I was in love,” William exclaimed.

  “You called her ‘darling’ twice,” Victoria chided. “Everyone knows that’s just the same.”

  Matilda considered how likely it was that she might faint just to escape this situation. She’d never done it before. Perhaps if she held her breath a very long time she might swoon and wake up once it was all over.

  Audrey Ford slipped into the space at her side and grasped her hand. “How could you toy with her feelings like this, William?”

  The duke pointed to her. “Matilda was just telling me she has a betrothed. What were you thinking to involve her in such a lie?”

  “What betrothed?”

  “Harry Lloyd,” she whispered. “He asked to marry me.”

  “When?” Captain Ford blinked, glancing at her with obvious surprise.

  “A year ago,” she confessed. “He left to make his fortune and went south to Portsmouth. He said he would try to join your ship as crew.”

  A muscle in the captain’s jaw twitched. “He won’t be coming back.”

  It took a moment for comprehension to come, then Matilda gasped and turned her face away. Her eyes filled with tears that overflowed to spill down her cheeks. Harry was dead?

  “Oh, you are a beast, William. I am ashamed you’re my brother.” Audrey threw her arm around Matilda as she sobbed as quietly as she could.

  She had waited so long for news of Harry, but she hadn’t imagined she would never see him again. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest.

  “There will be no savaging of Miss Winslow’s reputation through the scandal of a pretend separation,” the duke insisted, “since there is not going to be any pretense of any kind. Contracts will be drawn today. I will handle the arrangements personally.”

  Matilda wiped her tears away, unable to believe they were discussing anything when her heart lay in pieces.

  William’s jaw clenched when they made eye contact. “I will compensate her handsomely for the inconvenience myself, as we had already discussed.”

  “I don’t want to marry you,” Matilda whispered.

  “Marriage?” William frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  The three Ford ladies groaned in unison.

  “Grandfather, will you please explain the situation to our dear but dense elder brother,” Victoria said with a sad shake of her head. “William has, quite sadly, been too long at sea to understand his duty. We’ll resume making arrangements here while you talk.”

  Matilda was a little sorry to see them go. For a moment, she’d had companions who’d understood her sorrow.

  Captain Ford crossed to her side and rested his hand upon her shoulder, firm and strangely comforting at such a difficult moment.

  The duke rose to his feet and pointed to William. “You alone did more damage to this young woman’s reputation, a servant in your home, than was necessary to thwart Miss Chudleigh’s infatuation with matrimony. Your father would have eventually seen the error of his ways. Miss Winslow saved your life, and potential scandal is how you repay her? I will cut you off without a penny should you act against me in this. Did you not think your sisters would not suffer for it too once word of your lie spread among the ton? Don’t think it won’t, because it will indeed get out.”

  Anger filled her that the duke would be so cruel as to force them to the altar and that everyone was discussing her future with no indication she had a choice in their plans. She made to rise, but William held her still. Her soul rebelled against the idea of marrying a man she did not love or even want to be around. “I wish to withdraw.”

  “Of course.” The duke soothed her, suddenly reasonable and kind as he smiled upon her. “By now my granddaughters will have had a guest room prepared for you. Please remain apart from society until you are both legally wed. ”

  That was easy for Matilda to do, bu
t she shivered anyway before lifting her face to her employer. Captain Ford would not give in to his grandfather’s illogical demand they marry. Wasn’t Captain Ford wealthy in his own right? She had always assumed so. He surely would not give in to blackmail from his own grandfather. “Captain?”

  His expression gave little away as he met her gaze. “You agreed, and I expect you keep to our bargain.”

  She couldn’t have been more shocked than if he’d begun to sing a Christmas carol at the top of his lungs. “I agreed to pretend to be in love with you for one afternoon, not to lie and forced into marriage for the rest of my life. There is a very great difference between the two in my opinion.”

  A muscle flexed in his jaw. “Grandfather, would you excuse us a moment? Miss Winslow and I need to have a discussion.”

  “Certainly.” The duke wandered away, leaving Matilda and William alone in the parlor.

  “I cannot take the lie back now,” he said, as serious as she’d ever seen him. “We have no choice but to marry. He owns this house; he has promised my sisters their seasons and has enhanced their dowries too. My father had too many children and wives for his income. Do not imagine my grandfather won’t strike out at us by hurting them.”

  “But we can dissolve the marriage later so I can marry…” She shook her head. Harry was gone, but her mind still struggled with the loss. A fresh set of tears flowed down her cheeks at the cruelty of life that stole the people she loved. She drew in a breath and let it out slowly before rephrasing her response. “We can part ways later so I can live my own life.”

  “After my sisters are settled, we will have the marriage annulled or I will sue for divorce,” he promised.

  She blinked. Neither prospect would leave her with any sort of good reputation. “A short-term arrangement would be preferred. It could take years for them to fall in love.”