Nineteen
Matilda couldn’t help but laugh at William’s words about his sister. Surely Lady Penelope Ford couldn’t be in too much danger by having her feet sprinkled with the best sherry. She glanced at Carter and saw his frown aimed at her. Her merriment subsided. “Was there something else, Mr. Carter?”
He turned away rudely without answering.
Matilda’s happiness dimmed only a little. If not for William and the acceptance of his sisters, Matilda might have taken the butler’s rebuff to heart.
She did not today. She was the lady of the house, and Carter had to do her bidding. “I should like tea at three o’clock, Carter,” she called out.
“Very good,” Carter intoned. But she heard the remark that followed, “The second-best cups will do for the likes of you.”
“Thank you,” Matilda called after him, little caring if the man liked her or not. Once she would have. There had been a time when she’d been afraid to upset the applecart.
Not now.
Being William’s wife was turning out to be much more enjoyable than she’d imagined. There were so many things she could do. She could be busy or sit idly, make plans and discuss them with William when they lay together in bed at night. She was making friends slowly in society and enjoying having a family. She was happy with her life. Content in a way she had never expected. She turned around, filled with excitement and a wish to surprise William later, but stopped dead when she saw she was not alone.
Standing in the doorway was a man she’d never expected to see again. She cried out in shock and then covered her mouth to whisper his name. “Harry Lloyd?”
“In the flesh.” He grinned widely and held out his arms. “Did you miss me, sweetheart?”
Matilda stumbled. “They said you were dead.”
“That’s troubling.” He pressed a hand over his heart and tapped his fingers in a regular rhythm. “No. Still beating.”
Matilda hurried across the room and took his hand in hers to be sure she was not dreaming. His hand was solid beneath hers. Warm. She dropped his hand quickly. “You’re not dead?”
“No. I’m flesh and blood and come back to claim my girl,” he said, grinning broadly. “It’s time for me to settle down.”
Matilda’s heart stopped beating altogether. “I am settled.”
He glanced around the room. “I see you’re still keeping to the same schedule. Polishing his nibs’s brass and smoothing his sheets right when I knew you would be at this time of day.”
She shook her head slowly, her head full of horror for what she’d done. How could this be happening? He was dead. William had told her so. She’d married William. She had made her decisions and had trusted him to keep his promises. How could William be so wrong? Unless he had meant to mislead her just to get his way. She swallowed the hard lump in her throat. “I don’t dust anymore,” she whispered.
“Moving up in the world?” He nodded approvingly, and then he flopped down on the chaise, resting his feet on a pillow. “I thought I saw Mrs. Young below, but are you running the place now?”
She winced. “You could say that.”
“That’s the ticket. Bet you’ve saved us a pretty penny over the past year. So did I. We’ll pool
our funds and make like fish in a new pond far away from here.”
Matilda twisted her hands together at her waist. A chill swept over her skin. Harry had kept his promise and come back to marry her with no idea her faith in him hadn’t been as firm. She had allowed Captain Ford to drag her into his life and let him punish her whenever he liked. “Where have you been? Why didn’t you write me and tell me where you were?”
“I’ve been everywhere in England, luv. Why all these questions?” He scowled. “I came here to collect you as soon as I had money enough in my pocket to spare for the mail carriage and our future. I thought you’d at least show a little bit of appreciation at seeing me.”
Matilda flinched. She’d cut herself off from Harry the moment she’d said yes to William. “You should have written to me with your directions.”
He shrugged. “And let Cranky Young snatch my letters from you and read them aloud to everyone? Lord, I haven’t missed that old biddy one bit. I convinced the skinny boot boy to help me slip upstairs to avoid meeting her. Can’t wait to see the old trout’s face when we walk out of here arm in arm today.”
He picked up a book that had been left on the chaise by William and leafed through the pages. A scrap of paper dropped out and fell to the floor, unnoticed by Harry. He snapped the book shut without marking the place again. William would not like that.
“Don’t touch anything else.” Matilda snatched the book and scrap of paper and tried to find William’s place. He’d been reading some of it to her at night, and she flipped the pages until a familiar expression jumped out at her. She put the scrap of paper there, hoping she recalled correctly where he had read to last night.
“Still following Captain Bloody High and Mighty’s rules, I see. That man is a tyrant. There’ll be no need to worry about what he might say once we’re married.”
There was every need to worry. “This is his home. He does not like anyone touching his possessions. He will become very angry that you just lost his place.” Matilda lifted her chin.