When the Earl Met His Match (Wedded by Scandal 4)
“Mamma,” she said sleepily, pushing the blanket from her head and looking around the carriage. “Hungry.” This last bit was said with a whimper, and the boy’s stomach rumbled again.
The girl was maybe two years of age and quite thin. Sorrow clutched at Phoebe’s throat. If not for her circumstances of birth and the kindness of her husband, this might have been her plight. Alone and adrift with a child to take care of, with little option or opportunities to live. How many women found themselves with a child out of wedlock and the gentleman who had helped to create that life indifferent to their sorry state?
Phoebe reached up and removed her earbobs. The lady watched her the entire time while she shushed the fretful child in her arms. Phoebe held them out to her. “These are worth at least fifty quid. You should pawn them tomorrow. Do not accept less than forty pounds.”
With trembling hands, the lady reached out then at the last minute snatched back her hand and stared at the earbobs with a desperation that made Phoebe’s throat ache.
“I am the Countess of Albury,” she said softly.
Hugh tensed subtly beside her at the use of her title.
“As unlikely as it might seem, a few months ago I was very desperate and afraid, but God sent me to my destiny, and since then I have not been afraid. I can see the fear in your eyes and the hunger in your children. Please take them.”
The lady snatched the earbobs from her hands, silent tears rolling down her eyes. “Thank you, your ladyship. I…somehow I will repay you.”
“It will not be necessary,” she said kindly. “They were simply an ornament, but I dare hope the money will be able to keep you fed and warm for a few months.” How she wished she could do something more.
Hugh stirred, and his fingers moved. Phoebe almost threw herself at him and hugged him fiercely as she read his words. She turned back to the lady. “What is your name?”
“Agnes Smith, your ladyship.”
“Miss Agnes, in the morning, please visit Mr. Humboldt on Brook Street. He will have five hundred pounds waiting for you, and he will help you find a job.”
Agnes’s lips parted, and she stared helplessly at Phoebe. “Are you funning me?” she whispered hoarsely. “That is a fortune. And no one will hire me once…once they understand my circumstances.”
Hugh’s fingers moved. “It is a mere pittance.” However, Phoebe did not relay that to the quietly weeping woman.
“Rubbish, you are a respectable widow, and I hope you may have a skill?”
“I am an excellent seamstress, your ladyship!” she said eagerly.
“There. I am certain you will be able to find your way. A little bit of help was simply needed.”
A profusion of thanks erupted, and even the little boy started to smile despite his rumbling belly. Several minutes later, they deposited her to her abode, and the carriage turned around to take them to Grosvenor Square.
“Thank you,” she said, with a small smile at her husband. “Not many would have agreed to take her in the carriage.” But then Phoebe was already intimately acquainted with his honor and kind considerations.
He gave her another one of those long, searching stares but proffered no reply. Phoebe glanced out the window into the sleeting rain, her thoughts churning. “I would like to start a charity…or a program that would help women…women who have children out of wedlock who are left to suffer indignity, shame, and poverty. There must be other options than giving away their child to an orphanage or the poor house.” She looked at him. “Do you think this is possible?”
His hands lifted. “You have enough wealth to invest in dozens of charitable causes.”
Something tender swelled in her chest. “My brother and his friends, the Duke of Wolverton and the Earl of Blade, invest in many charitable endeavours to help the poor of society, especially those made orphans either by the war or parents who do not care. I would like to start something similar but directed toward women with few options. If they have no skills, I could have a program that teaches them whatever is necessary for them to find employment and then to help them find a job and housing. I think it sounds like it will be a large undertaking.”
“I will allocate one hundred thousand pounds to you for this endeavour. I have also been remiss in my duties, and a yearly stipend will also be allocated for your personal use. Whenever you need my input, I am here.”
Phoebe almost choked. “I…thank you.” It astonished her that he would so readily support her and entrusted her with such a fortune to do as she will. He clearly believed in her and did not think her too young. She wished she could wrap this feeling around her like a blanket and wear it with her always.
“Your brother sounds like an admirable man.”
She smiled briefly. “Though he can be an arrogant fool sometimes, especially when he sent that bacon-brained idiot for me, he is also very wonderful.”
His eyes hooded, and that careful mask slid into place once more. Anxiety beat in her breast, and she gripped the edge of the squabs. “Richard was afraid that somehow you took advantage of my desperate plight and everything inside of him told him that I must be rescued. He is so mistrusting of others, except for his wife, of course, that it never occurred to him that I might be contented. Once he meets you, he will see that he has nothing to worry about.”
“Did the man who took you hurt you? I suspected he drugged you.”
“Yes, I was drugged. But he did not hurt me. I was more frustrated by his audacity and worried that you might not know what happened to me,” she whispered.
To this her husband said nothing, and the lantern in the carriage dimmed, casting him in more shadows.