A Matter of Choice (20 page)

“Philip is dead!”

His father staggered as if he’d received a great blow. “Yes. And you killed him.”

“Philip died because he forced his horse to attempt a jump he couldn’t possibly make.”

“No!”

“Yes!

His father lunged forward but caught himself against the corner of the desk, then glared more intently. “You think you’ve won, don’t you? You think you’ll get it all. That your wife’s dowry has saved you from losing everything.” He shook his head. “You haven’t. Do you know why?”

Silence.

“Because I know the conditions of your marriage contract.”

Ashbury staggered to the small table where Joshua kept the liquor and pulled the stopper from a cut glass decanter. He lifted the bottle to his lips and drank, then swiped his mouth with the back of his hand. When he turned to face them, the look on his face changed. His lips curled in a sardonic grin that caused Joshua to take pause.

“I cannot believe you were so foolish to agree to a condition you have no chance of meeting.” He threw his head back and laughed. He straightened, then aimed his glare at Allison.

Joshua put his arm out and held her to him. She was trembling.

“Do you really think you are woman enough to keep this rakehell from straying? There isn’t a woman alive who can satisfy him. He’s just like his mother. His blood runs as hot as hers did. He won’t be any more faithful than she was.”

The air left Joshua’s body. “How dare you!” He wanted to strangle his father, wanted to strike out and do him harm, but Allison’s small, firm hand in his stopped him.

“Why are you here?” he asked. He wanted his father out of his house. Wanted to never set eyes on him again.

“Just wanted to meet my new daughter-in-law.”

“Get out!”

“But I’ve just come. And you have yet to introduce me.”

He had no intention of introducing Allison to anyone so vile as his father, but without warning, Allison stepped out.

“Your Grace.” She bowed a polite curtsy and faced his father with as much courage as he’d ever seen.

“So you’re the woman who so foolishly sacrificed her wealth for a husband who will never be faithful to her.” He took another step toward them.

“That’s enough!”

“Surely you know that?” Ashbury took another step.

To her credit, Allison didn’t flinch, but held her ground. “I know no such thing, Your Grace.”

“Of course you do, Lady Montfort. I think that’s why you included a fidelity stipulation in your marriage contract.
To protect yourself from the day when your husband is unfaithful.”

Blind fury erupted like a bright explosion deep inside him. He wanted his father out of his house, away from him. Away from Allison. “Your Grace,” he said through clenched teeth, “I don’t think we have anything further to discuss.”

He stepped in front of Allison to shield her from any more of his father’s vicious attacks. “As I’m sure you are aware, I now own every Ashbury property with the exception of Ashland Park and two other estates that are entailed. They are yours until your death. What you do with them is entirely up to you. I have saved what I could.”

“Your precious Graystone Manor?”

“Yes. Graystone Manor is safe from you. The rest I don’t care about. I never did.”

“Damn you!”

Joshua gave no quarter. He wanted the break clean. “I have set up a sizable allowance for you to use as you see fit. Or you can refuse it and live in the squalor you have created for yourself. It matters not to me. You are the one who put yourself in this position. You will have to deal with it however you like.”

The duke bellowed a vile oath. “I wouldn’t touch a pound of your blood money if I were starving.

Joshua shrugged his shoulders. “That is up to you.”

His father’s expression turned even more vile. “You won’t keep Graystone Manor or anything else you’ve paid for. There is no way you will meet the stipulations of your marriage contract. You are a whoremonger, a philanderer. There is no way you will stay out of another woman’s bed. It will happen as surely as I’m standing here. Then, if your wife is not a fool, she will take it all away from you.”

“Enough!” Joshua bellowed, and swiped his hand through the air. For the first time, he saw fear in his father’s eyes. The duke stumbled backward, but righted himself against the settee.

Joshua took another step closer. “Get out! This is my home and you are no longer welcome here.”

“You are so cock sure of yourself,” he spat, then turned to Allison. “Just wait, my lady. It won’t be long before your husband leaves your bed for someone else’s.”

Joshua reached for Allison’s hand, but when he turned toward her, her face was pale. A heavy weight fell to the pit of his stomach. “My wife knows that will never be a concern. I have given her my word.”

“Your mother gave her word, too. Her solemn oath on our wedding day. Your promise will be no more trustworthy than hers.” He paused, sliding his gaze back to Allison. “Unless, of course, you’re fool enough to think you’re woman enough to keep him in your bed.” The duke’s accusing gaze scrutinized his wife’s body, lingering on her breasts, then dropping below her waist. He laughed. “You’re not.”

Joshua saw red. “Out! Get out of my house right now.” He took his father by the arm and ushered him to the door. Converse magically appeared and rushed to open the front door.

Ashbury jerked his arm out of Joshua’s grasp and slashed his hand through the air as if Joshua’s very touch disgusted him. “You’ll lose it all. I’ll see to it. You’ll never get what should have been Philip’s. Never!”

Ashbury staggered across the threshold. The minute he stepped outside, Converse closed the door and slid the heavy metal bolt into the lock.

Joshua faced the door, his chest heaving to force air into his lungs, the blood thundering through his head. His mind was a riot of incoherent thoughts. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. Couldn’t believe his father had said the things he had—that his mother hadn’t been faithful, had taken lovers.

A thought raced through his mind that was so debilitating his whole body went numb. Was his father implying that he wasn’t his son?

“Joshua?”

Her gentle voice seeped through the filth and chaotic muddle in his mind like a breath of clean, fresh air. He fought his way back to her, back to the goodness that was such a part of her. He turned.

She stood in the doorway, her silhouette a masterpiece of near perfection. Oh, how he needed her, how he wanted to hold her. To have her wrap her arms around him so he could forget his father’s accusations.

“Joshua?”

Her voice wafted over him like a gentle whisper. She didn’t move at first, then took a tentative step forward and halted, unsure. With slow deliberation, he stretched out his arms to her, showing her the only way he knew how much he needed her.

She came forward, slowly at first, then with a small cry, she ran into his arms.

He wrapped his trembling arms around her and held her close, crushing her to him as if he never wanted to let her go. “Are you all right?” he asked, pressing his lips to the top of her head.

“Yes, but you…”

He sensed her fear, felt the effect his father’s words had on her. “Shh. I’m fine. I am, after all, used to this.”

“You can’t be. No one could.” She tilted her head back to look at him. “Your father is ill, Joshua. His grief over your brother’s death has twisted his mind.”

He shook his head. “His hatred for me did that a long time ago. Philip’s death only snapped the fragile thread that connected him to sanity.”

There was a desperation in the way she clung to him. “What are we going to do?” She rested her cheek against his chest and held him tighter.

“I’ve done everything I know of to save my inheritance. My father...is lost to me.”

She breathed a harsh breath that shuddered when she released it. “We should leave here.” She burrowed against him even closer.

A certain wariness crept over him. There was a frightened anxiety in her voice.

“I’ll tell Emma to pack.” She lifted her gaze to meet his. “We’ll leave first thing in the morning. We can go back to Graystone Manor. We’ll be safe there.”

The air caught in his lungs. “Safe from what, Allison?”

She averted her eyes and worried her bottom lip. “Everything.”

But he knew she feared only one thing. That his father’s words would come true.

As long as she could isolate him in the country, she didn’t have to fear he would find another woman to share his bed.

He grasped her by the shoulders and held her out to look in her eyes. He lifted a loose strand of hair from her cheek, then brushed one finger over the tiny worry lines on her forehead. “Whose invitation did you say we received for tonight?”

Surprise was evident on her face. She shook her head but answered him. “The Countess of Evernon. She is hosting a ball.”

“We will attend.”

Her eyes opened wide. “But…your father?”

“We have nothing more to fear from him. He will not search me out any longer. He has said what he wanted to say. And from what Chardwell says, his name has not been included on any invitation list for weeks.”

“But…are you sure you want to go? Tonight?”

“Yes.” He kissed the frown on her forehead. “It is time we made our way back into Society. Time the
ton
saw us as the happy couple we are.”

Time I earned your trust
, he thought, but did not say the words out loud.

“Let’s go upstairs and pick out your prettiest ball gown. We will make a grand entrance tonight.”

She smiled up at him, but he saw the hesitancy in her gaze. His father had done an exemplary job of bringing to light all her fears, and destroying whatever faith she’d come to have in him.

He ushered her up the stairs almost at a run. The minute they crossed their bedroom threshold, he kicked the door closed and slid the lock. Without giving her time to even glance at her gowns, he took her in his arms and made slow, languorous love to her. He would do whatever it took so she never doubted him.

She was far too important to him. Far more precious than he’d ever intended his wife to become.

“You’re tired.”
Joshua tucked her close to him as their carriage clattered over London’s cobbled streets.

“Just a little.”

It wasn’t a lie. She had good reason to be tired. They’d attended at least one event every night for the last two weeks. Most times two or three. From the afternoon of the scene with his father, Joshua insisted they be seen together every day. It was as if he needed to show Society they were the perfect couple. As if proving his father wrong was of the utmost importance. Tonight they were attending her sister Phoebe’s ball.

“We won’t stay long,” he whispered, as their carriage slowed, then stopped. A footman raced to open their door.

Joshua exited first and reached for her hand to help her from their carriage. From the number of vehicles that lined the street there was already a huge crush of people inside. This was normal for any function Phoebe hosted. Unlike Allison, her three sisters were in their element when surrounded by hordes of people.

She stepped onto the damp cement and breathed a heavy sigh. She would be glad when they could spend a quiet evening at home. Happier yet when they could go back to Graystone.

She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she’d felt uneasy since Ashbury had thrown out his wild accusations. He’d voiced her deepest fears as if they were guaranteed to become a reality.

If only she could keep his words buried deep inside her where she could forget them.

She silently chastised herself. There was no reason to feel this way. Joshua had given her no cause for concern, no cause to doubt him. If anything, he’d been the model husband. She was the envy of every married woman wherever they went. And yet…

“Is everything all right?” he asked handing over their cloaks to a footman.

“Yes, fine.”

He walked with her to the top of the stairs leading to the ballroom and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “We will just make an appearance, then leave.”

The minute they were announced, the crowd turned to stare at them. He flashed her a heart-stopping smile and all her doubts faded.

“Allie,” Phoebe said, then reached out to give her a very warm hug. “Lord Montfort.”

“Lady Fortiner. Fortiner,” Joshua answered.

Allison noticed the speculative look on her sister’s face. If they’d been alone, she had no doubt her sister would have been forward enough to inquire about the more intimate aspects of her marriage. Thank heaven there was a crowd behind them.

“You both look as happy as everyone says.” Phoebe gave Joshua a huge smile.

“That is because marriage agrees so entirely.” He placed his arm around Allison’s waist. “I have married a remarkable woman.”

The look he gave her was one of pure adoration. The murmur behind them crescendoed and Allison knew her husband had been raised another notch in every woman’s esteem.

How could she ever have doubted him? She only had to remember his attentiveness and consideration to realize the man she’d married had given his vows seriously. She was the foolish one for letting her own fears overshadow her happiness. Any doubts she harbored were of her own making.

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and vowed from this moment on to quiet the nagging voice that repeated the bitter warnings the Duke of Ashbury had spewed in anger.

“Are Mary and Tess here?”

“They’re standing together near the second set of patio doors talking to the dowager Countess of Etonbury and Lady Questry.”

Her gaze moved to the back of the long, narrow room. Double-paned French doors took up the length of one wall of the ballroom. They were open to let in a cool breeze.

Phoebe leaned closer. “You missed our small scandal.” She spoke loud enough for just Allison to hear. Joshua was carrying on a conversation with the earl. “Lady Questry and Lady Bingham were on their way to one of the retiring rooms and came upon Lord Questry in a semi-compromising situation.”