The Countess (Madison Sisters #1)(19)
Author: Lynsay Sands

"Except he was dead," she said quietly.

"Yes, and he was married to you, which put a wrinkle in our plans," Richard said quietly.

Christiana blinked at him in surprise. "Why did that put a wrinkle in them?"

"Because George had escaped justice by dying. It was only you and your sisters who would suffer in the scandal that would ensue if I revealed what he’d done, and the three of you are innocents."

Christiana was staring at him now as if he were some exotic creature she’d never encountered before. Uncomfortable under that steady, odd gaze, he added,

"So when Daniel suggested that I simply step back into my life as if George had never stolen it from me . . . wel , the truth is that I hesitated. I didn’t wish to hurt you or your sisters, but on the other hand, I didn’t know you and didn’t wish to be punished further by his actions either. So we decided to remove George and hide him away for a couple of days while I saw if you and I would deal wel together."

Christiana stood up abruptly, her face suddenly florid and Richard realized she’d taken what he’d said the entirely wrong way, thinking he’d meant whether they suited each other in bed. "Not that way," he assured her quickly. "Last night was whol y unexpected. In fact, if you’l recal I was trying to stop you from undressing me. It was you who was so determined to get my clothes off."

"I was trying to see your strawberry," she snapped and then narrowed her eyes.

"Speaking of which, I should like to see it now."

"My strawberry?" he asked blankly and peered down at his groin. It had been his pants she’d been so determined to remove last night as he recal ed, but no one had ever cal ed his manhood a strawberry before. In fact, he thought he might be insulted if that was what she was referring to.

"On your bottom," she said, her irritation of a moment ago seeming to transform into a mix of exasperation and embarrassment. "Richard Fairgrave is supposed to have a strawberry-shaped birthmark on his behind. I should like to see it, please."

"Oh." Richard relaxed and even grinned. "No one has ever said to me that it was strawberry-shaped."

She merely arched an eyebrow, apparently unwil ing to be put off from seeing it.

He supposed he couldn’t blame her real y. She’d been married to who she’d thought was Richard Fairgrave this last year and now he was tel ing her it had real y been his brother George. He supposed it was reasonable for her to want proof of who was who. Sighing inwardly, he grimaced, turned his back to her, undid his trousers and dropped them.

Christiana simply stood there gaping at Richard for a moment, completely taken aback. She supposed she shouldn’t be so surprised, she’d asked to see his bottom to check for the strawberry, but real y she’d expected something of an argument perhaps, or a little modesty, but the way he’d simply dropped his drawers suggested there was very little modesty in the man.

"Wel ?" Richard asked impatiently.

Swal owing, Christiana took a tentative step closer to him and forced herself to focus on his bare derriere, but then frowned. The man was standing near the door about as far away from the light cast by the window as possible. He also happened to be standing in the bed’s shadow. "I . . . erm . . . it’s too dark. I can’t see."

Richard clucked impatiently and turned around to make his way across the room.

With his pants around his ankles it wasn’t a fast maneuver and watching him duck march around the bed toward the window with his family jewels hanging out and swinging to and fro under his frock coat was real y quite the most ridiculous thing she thought she’d ever seen.

"There. Is this better?" he asked, pausing beside the window and turning so that he was sideways to it. Christiana cleared her throat to remove the laughter lodged there and made herself fol ow him across the room. She then bent and peered at his behind.

"Oh! There it is," she said, reaching out to brush a finger over the mark. It was a pale red or dark pink-colored splotch on his left butt cheek as Langley had said. "It’s not real y a strawberry though, is it? It’s more the shape of a rosebud. Langley said it was – "

"My lady? Your sisters are –  Oh, dear Lord."

Christiana straightened abruptly and turned toward the connecting door that she’d left open and Daniel hadn’t closed. Grace now stood in the entrance, eyes wide as she took in the portrait of the two of them by the window. A moment of silence passed as Christiana tried to think of something to say and then the maid started to withdraw, mumbling an apology that died abruptly as she spotted the body on the bed. Her gaze slid from the body in the bed to the man behind Christiana and back and she breathed, "Oh, dear Lord," again.

"I can explain everything," Christiana said at once, and hurried toward the woman. Hearing a resigned sigh and the rustle of clothing behind her, she glanced over her shoulder to see Richard looking exasperated as he pul ed up his pants and did them up. She supposed between her discovering the body, her demand to see his bottom and Grace’s discovering the body, the man was having something of a difficult morning. Christiana could sympathize, she’d been having a difficult year and it didn’t look as if things were going to get any easier in the near future.

Chapter Eleven

So," Grace said the moment Christiana finished her explanations and fel silent.

"Your marriage to Dicky-George wasn’t legal, because it was Richard Fairgrave, Earl of Radnor on the marital contract and George was just impersonating Richard when he signed the papers?"

"I think that’s probably true," Christiana admitted.

"But you’ve now consummated that il egal marriage to Dicky-George with Dicky-Richard . . . Does that make the marriage to Dicky-Richard legal now?

Or . . ." Grace let the words trail off, but then she didn’t have to say it, Christiana knew what she was asking. Was she now legal y married to Richard or was she a fal en woman in a sham of a marriage with a dead man who hadn’t been who he claimed to be?

Real y, Christiana thought, she’d believed she had problems when Richard had come walking into the bal and she’d thought Dicky resurrected, but it just kept getting more and more complicated, the problems mounting up one atop the other. Clearing her throat, she said, "I do not think so, though Richard may let it stand. He wishes to see how wel we deal together before he decides."

Grace snorted with disgust. "He apparently felt you dealt wel enough together last night when he consummated the marriage his brother got him into."

"Yes, wel , that may have been my fault," Christiana admitted, flushing hotly. "I was trying to see his strawberry and . . . er . . ."

"And fel on his pole?" Grace asked dryly.

"Grace!" Christiana cried with shock.

"Wel , listen to yourself trying to take the blame," the maid said impatiently. "You were an untried girl ere last night, the blood on the sheets proves that. And you were inebriated as wel . And you thought him your husband while he knew otherwise," she added grimly. "You are the innocent in this. It’s those two in the next room at fault for al that has occurred."

"She’s right."

Christiana swung around to see a grim-faced Richard in the connecting doorway to the master bedroom. He’d agreed to wait in the master bedroom while she explained the situation to Grace, but had apparently grown impatient. Christiana bit her lip as he now crossed the room toward them, worried that he might take Grace to task for what some would consider overstepping in even asking questions. However, Grace had been a member of her household al her life. While she was her maid, she was also like family to her. Christiana loved the older woman, and knew that love and caring was returned. It was the only reason the woman felt she could be so free with her tongue. Fortunately, Richard seemed to understand that and gave Grace a nod of respect. "You are right. I am the one who decided last night that I would let the marriage stand." He turned to Christiana. "I had no idea you were stil a virgin at the time, but I did know the marriage probably wasn’t legal and that you were somewhat the worse for drink. I never should have al owed the situation to progress as it did."

Christiana stared at him wide-eyed. Dicky had never taken responsibility for his actions or faults. He had always blamed any mistake made or insult given on someone else, usual y her. As far as she could tel he’d blamed her for everything from his stumbling over his own feet to the rain fal ing.

"Wel , what are you going to do about it, my lord?" Grace asked abruptly when Christiana just continued to stare at the man.

"We shal have another ceremony to ensure it is legal," he announced solemnly.

"We can tel everyone we wish to renew our vows to explain the need for it."

"Wel , thank God for that." Grace stood abruptly and headed for the door. "I’d best go down and tel Langley and Lisa you are fine."

"Tel them she’s fine?" Richard asked with a frown.

Grace nodded. "You’ve been up here a long time. Young Robert was worried, so I offered to check and be sure she was al right and report back."

Christiana saw a shaft of irritation flash across Richard’s face, but he merely grunted and waited for the maid to leave. The moment the door closed behind her, he glanced to Christiana and gave a wry, apologetic smile. "I’m sorry. I didn’t ask if you were wil ing to al ow the marriage to stand. Are you wil ing? Wil you marry me?"

She blinked in surprise, both at the apology and his comment. Christiana wasn’t used to such consideration. Besides, it wasn’t as if she had much choice in the matter. They had already consummated the marriage, legal or not.

Apparently taking her hesitation for reluctance, Richard knelt before her and took her hands in his. "I have heard enough to realize the last year with George has been hard. But I promise you I am not like him. I wil be a good husband to you. I wil

– "

Christiana brought his words to an end by covering his mouth with her hand.

When he frowned around her fingers and raised his eyebrows, she sighed and said,

"Dicky made – I mean George. George made me many promises before we married about the wonderful husband he would be and the glorious life we would have together . . . and he broke every one. I would rather you not make promises, my lord. Lies are easily spoken. Actions are real y more tel ing."

"Very wel . No promises," Richard agreed when she let her hand drop away from his mouth. "But you haven’t answered my question. Do you wish to let the marriage stand and hold the ceremony again?"

Christiana smiled wryly at the question. His first questions, Are you willing? And Will you marry me? would have been easier to answer. She had little choice real y if she wished to avoid scandal. But his Do you wish to let the marriage stand and hold the ceremony again? was much more complicated. Christiana was so confused at that point she didn’t know what she wished for.

Certainly Richard seemed much nicer than George, but despite what they had done in this room last night he was virtual y a stranger to her, and George had seemed nice prior to the wedding as wel . How was she to know if Richard might not turn into a control ing and critical monster the moment the vows were repeated as wel ? She couldn’t, and was afraid to trust that he wouldn’t and be hurt again as she had by George, for truly that had been the worst thing about the way he’d treated her, her sense of betrayal and hurt that the man who had claimed to love her had then treated her so cruel y. At least she would have the nights to look forward to this time , some part of her mind pointed out and Christiana glanced away from Richard with a blush at the thought. It was no smal consolation. Her memories of the pleasure they’d shared were vivid and glorious. Christiana supposed she would just have to hope that was not the only good part of their marriage, that he was kinder and showed her more respect and consideration than George had. Even a modicum of either behavior would make it bearable if she had those passionate nights too. Clearing her throat, she forced herself to meet his gaze again and nodded solemnly. "Very wel . The marriage wil stand so long as we have another ceremony."

She swal owed and then added quietly, "Thank you."

Richard shook his head. "Do not thank me. I do not want you to feel I have sacrificed myself and done you some great honor by standing behind the marriage.

This does not just make things easier for you, but for me as wel ." He squeezed her hand and added, "And I have high hopes that we wil deal wel with each other and in time become good friends and partners."

Christiana peered at him silently. Aside from the fact that he was trying to ensure she did not feel beholden to him, which seemed very kind to her, Richard also wasn’t making false claims of love and adoration or even like and attraction. He was being honest and stating exactly how the marriage would benefit him, and that he hoped for more in the future. Before she’d met George the very unflowery words would have upset her; now they made her relax and want to smile. She had learned her lesson wel and would take truth over empty lies any day.

"Al right?" he asked when she continued to stare at him silently.

Christiana managed a smal , sincere smile and nodded. "Al right."

"Good." He smiled widely and stood, pul ing her to her feet with him. "Now, come along. We should join your sisters and Langley before he comes charging up here to rescue you."

He said the words teasingly enough, but with a slight edge that made her wonder.

However, it suddenly occurred to Christiana that she hadn’t told him about Langley’s suspicions.

"He thinks you are George," she blurted as he began to urge her out of the room.

Richard drew her to a halt, his gaze sharp as he asked, "He does?"

She nodded and quickly explained the conversation she’d had with Robert the night before. When she finished, they were both silent as Richard digested what he’d learned.

"I see," he said final y as he took her arm to walk her along the hal . "That explains a lot of his behavior, and I suppose I should have wondered how you knew about my birthmark. It’s not common knowledge." He was silent as they descended the stairs, but at the bottom he paused, and turned her to face him. "Do you trust Robert?"