Virtue's Reward Read online

  “I wonder sometimes,” Garthwood read, “if I shall ever see dear old Cornwall again. Although we all believe the war is nearly over and Boney stares defeat in the face, there are too many mishaps here waiting to trap a fellow. If anything should happen to me, dear cousin, I surely shouldn’t want old Garthwood to get his hands on Friarswell.”

  Garthwood looked up and smiled like a snake before taking a delicate sip of his wine. It was no surprise to him that poor Edward had held him in dislike, even though their meetings had been few and far between. It was rather amusing to read the proof.

  The next few sentences, however, made him suddenly blanch and leap to his feet. His glass of wine spilled unnoticed on the floor. For God’s sake! This could ruin everything. He read the words again. A brandy flask? Had it survived the campaign? Or had it been buried with his cousin, somewhere in France?

  He cursed heavily and began to stalk the room, unconsciously twisting one hand against the other. It was essential that he find out immediately. Essential! Or all was lost.

  With a determined twist of the lip, Garthwood calmed down and began to write out some instructions. Everything he had planned here in Cornwall must go on without him. He could leave things in Jones’s hands.

  First he must ascertain the status of the flask. If it existed, Helena and Richard Acton should not be too hard to trace. Had they not said they were going to London?

  * * *

  The Earl and Countess of Acton did not stand on the steps and wave off their eldest son and his new wife. Of course, Helena had not expected for a moment that they would. She had, in fact, already had a very uncomfortable conversation with the countess in the breakfast room.

  “I am given to understand by my son that you bring no competence of your own to this match, Lady Lenwood.”

  “That is correct, my lady.” Helena forced herself to continue calmly buttering her finger of toast.

  “I hope that you will not think to batten on to him for funds. I’m sure he will give you an allowance for pin money, but gentlemen do not expect to have to furnish their wives with the necessary for serious purchases.”

  “I am aware of that, Lady Acton.”

  “Humph! Are you? I can imagine nothing but constant humiliation for you in this match. Richard will live a life of his own. He is used to travel and adventure. Don’t think for a moment that he will act the dutiful husband. Had you property, of course, things would be entirely different. You might have been able to hold up your head in Society with a modicum of dignity.”

  “But I do not have any property of my own, my lady. I shall have to hope that my head will hold up itself.”

  Lady Acton gave her an extremely sharp look from her beautiful eyes.

  “Yes, you have no family to turn to when things go wrong, do you? I suppose you are used to being alone. My son has always been a proud man. Can you give me the slightest reason why he felt obliged to offer for you? It seems to me to be entirely contrary to his nature. You’re not increasing, are you?”

  To her annoyance, Helena felt herself flush. “Certainly not!”

  The countess laughed suddenly. It made her seem years younger. “I see that it is possible, after all, to discompose you. Well, I don’t wish you ill of this match. It’s done and there’s an end of it. I only warn you again: Do not expect plain sailing.”

  And with that the countess rose and walked gracefully from the room.

  * * *

  As the curricle bowled along the turnpike, Helena wondered what on earth she had expected. Not to marry a lord, certainly! She had thought of nothing except to escape from Nigel Garthwood. Yet Mr. Garthwood had allowed her to stay on at Trethaerin House for all those months, after the solicitor had explained to her how affairs stood, and he had never once harassed her. Anyone else would interpret his offer of marriage to be only generous and correct.

  Why, then, had she been so afraid to put herself in Garthwood’s hands? In spite of the bright sunshine, she shuddered. It was as if instinct had been telling her that beneath the polished exterior lay a cruel outlaw.

  So instead, she had put herself completely in the firm hands of Richard Arthur Lysander Acton, who would one day be an earl. How could she have done such a thing? Of course, Edward had hero-worshipped him. From her cousin’s letters, she had already built up a picture of Captain Acton as a man of honor and admirable capabilities.

  She glanced at him. He certainly sat his horse like a centaur.

  For Viscount Lenwood did not share the curricle with his wife. One of the tigers was at the reins, and Richard rode Bayard alongside. Her husband’s fine nostrils were set rigid above his thin mouth. His face had been locked in a frown ever since they left King’s Acton. It darkened his eyes to pitch.

  He had spent a good part of the morning closeted with his father in the study, before the earl had come out and bid Helena and his son a clipped farewell. She had not thought for a moment to question Richard about it, and she was not surprised when he curtly told the tiger to drive the grays and swung himself onto his charger. He did not appear to be aware of her. He was remote but courteous when they paused for lunch at Shaftesbury, and it was not until they stopped for the night at Salisbury that he was forced to take notice of her.

  “I’m very sorry, my lord,” the innkeeper said. “But I don’t have a suite left that’s suitable for yourself and her ladyship. There’s to be a mill tomorrow, see, and everything’s taken.”

  “Then two simple rooms will suffice, my man.”

  “I’ve the double chamber at the front of the house, my lord. Why don’t I just go and check for a moment?”

  Were they to be trapped together for the night in a room with only one bed? Helena decided instantly to take the bull by the horns.

  “If there is nothing but a double room,” she said quietly. “Perhaps there might be a trundle bed?”

  To her amazement, Richard laughed.

  “Our marriage must eventually be consummated, dear Helena. I know the thought has been terrifying you ever since Exeter, but I would not have dreamed of making love to you under my father’s roof. Nevertheless, please relax and rest assured that neither do I intend to ravish you in this sorry establishment. I won’t share a room with you.”

  Why must she blush like a silly milkmaid? “But if there is nothing else?”

  “I prefer to be private. You may have the room alone. I don’t share my sleep with anyone.”

  It was a simple statement of fact.

  “Why not?” she said without thinking.

  His face set like marble. “I don’t think that’s any of your concern.”

  Helena was instantly silenced.

  A few moments later the innkeeper returned. It was soon arranged that her ladyship should have the front room, and the viscount would take a simple chamber at the back of the house.

  The landlord sighed and scratched his head as they were led away. There was no accounting for the ways of the Quality. She was a right pretty little thing. Why on earth wouldn’t her husband want to share her bed?

  The next day Richard once again drove the curricle as they trotted on through Hampshire.

  “What was it that my mother had to say?” he asked suddenly.

  “Actually, it was more of a warning.”

  He raised a brow. “Really? Does she think I’m so dangerous?” The sun danced off his yellow head as he laughed. “I know I’ve been an ogre ever since King’s Acton. The place has that effect on me, in spite of my best efforts. Will you forgive me? I promise reform as of this moment.”

  Helena met his gaze frankly. “I’m not sure whose behavior was worse. I had no right to accuse you. I accept your apology, if you’ll accept mine.”

  Richard was forced to look back at the road for a moment, but he smiled.

  “Extraordinary Helena! If there was any bad behavior, it was entirely mine, but very well.”

  “Your mother’s concern was for my self-respect.”

  “Because you have no
money of your own?”

  Her eyes flew up again to meet his. They were filled with amusement.

  “Are you always so perceptive, Richard?”

  “No, I just know my mother. She brought as much to her marriage with my father as he had himself, and she has never let him forget it. I pray you won’t regret that you couldn’t do the same. You’ll have an allowance. I shan’t question how you spend it.”

  “Lady Acton didn’t doubt that you would give me pin money.”

  “I was thinking of more than pin money.”

  And he named a sum that made Helena gasp. It would be sufficient to set her up in her own household.

  “A fraction of that would be sufficient, sir.”

  “No, it would not. I don’t intend to do your shopping for you, and you will need more than you think. Give the rest to charity if you wish.”

  “Richard, I can’t take it. For heaven’s sake, leave me some dignity.”

  “To leave you without funds would be worse, I assure you. Had your father been alive, there would have been marriage settlements. He wouldn’t have sold you for any less.”

  “Yes, but as my husband, you would have gained Trethaerin. Do you think it would have been a fair exchange? Under the circumstances, how can I even the score?”

  He smiled. “You think that I can’t drive a decent bargain, like poor Esau who sold his birthright for a pottage of lentils?”

  “ ‘And Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field,’ ” she quoted.

  “Not cunning enough,” Richard said with a laugh. “He let himself be outwitted and replaced in his father’s affections by his younger brother, Jacob. Hardly a reasonable exchange.”

  “How can I know? Do you care for your birthright?”

  “Passionately, as it happens.”

  So it meant a great deal to him to be earl one day. Could she live up to it? He was offering her financial security and a more assured place in society than she had any right to expect. What could she give in return?

  “I shall try to make you a good wife,” she said.

  “I don’t want a good wife and the blunt means nothing. Forget it.”

  “Then what do you want?”

  She had no idea if he was serious or not.

  “I want Acton Mead, of course,” he said.

  * * *

  It was late evening when they arrived at Acton Mead, and the house was shadowed in the failing light. It lay in a fold of hills, and the grounds ran down to the water meadows of the Thames. Part of the façade was lost in a thick growth of ivy, but the grounds appeared to have been kept up, even if not quite to the standard of King’s Acton. There were sheep instead of roe deer grazing the lawn.

  Richard hammered at the door, and in a few moments it was opened and an elderly butler peered out.

  “Master Richard? Bless my soul!”

  “Are you going to let me in, Hood? Or must I stand in the dark like a beggar at my own door?”

  “Well, you gave me a turn, my lord, and that’s a fact,” Hood said, throwing open the door. “We have most of the house in dust sheets.”

  “Devil take the dust sheets! All I require tonight is the preparation of two bedchambers and a simple meal. How is Mrs. Hood?”

  They were ushered into the hallway and Richard began to peel off his coat.

  “You will find her in the pink, my lord, as always. There’s not much rattles my Mistress Hood.”

  The butler’s expression was torn between his delight at seeing the viscount and the furtive glances he was casting at Helena.

  “Then go and fetch her, sir. I would like her to meet Lady Lenwood.”

  Hood gaped, and his wrinkled face broke into smiles. “Lady Lenwood! Then you’re a married man, my lord.”

  “Indeed, and I have come to claim my home.”

  “Master Richard! Well, bless us all!” A round-faced woman had bustled into the hallway. It was obviously Mrs. Hood, for she gave the butler a buffet in the ribs. “Now, what on earth are you thinking of, Mr. Hood, to let them stand in the hallway like this? We don’t have the house open, my lord. But if you would condescend to join us in the kitchen? And is this your lady wife? God bless you, my dear! Come through, now, come right through!”

  Richard smiled indulgently at the old housekeeper. “We should be delighted, Mrs. Hood, especially if you happen to have some of your scones.”

  So Helena found herself following Richard and the old couple through several shrouded rooms and into the warmth of the kitchen. The walls, painted the traditional blue to keep away the flies, were lined with row upon row of shining copper pots and pans. Barrels of flour and a tall cone of sugar stood at the side of the room.

  “We have a rabbit stew, my lord, and fresh bread, and I can whip up some scones on the instant. Had you thought to send warning, we’d have laid in more provisions.”

  “Time enough tomorrow, Mrs. Hood. Now, can you find a bedchamber for her ladyship?”

  “Well, of course,” she said. “All the bedrooms are kept clean and aired. I should hope that I know my duty.”

  Helena watched with amazement as Richard, heir to an earldom, happily ate rabbit stew in the kitchen with the housekeeper and butler. A plate of fragrant scones soon appeared from the wall oven. They were served with generous helpings of cream and honey. Then Mrs. Hood disappeared to see to the beds.

  Richard seemed free of all shadows and laughed uproariously more than once at some anecdote of the old man’s.

  “And do you remember, my lord,” Hood wheezed, “when Master Harry caught the frogs and put one in your grandmama’s bed?”

  “How could I possibly forget, sir? It was I who received the beating.”

  Richard threw back his yellow head and laughed again.

  “Yet Master Harry caught it, too, when you tied together your sisters’ plaits.”

  “That was nothing more than was richly deserved. I don’t know if Joanna has forgiven us yet.”

  “You lived here as children?” Helena asked.

  His smile was as warm as the sun. “We came here every summer, my brothers and sisters and I, and cavorted under the indulgent eye of the dowager Countess of Acton, my father’s late mother. It was the only place, I think, that we ever were happy.”

  No wonder he had longed to own it. He must feel for Acton Mead as she felt for Trethaerin House.

  As if reading her thoughts, Richard leaned across to her and took her hand. “Exactly, my dear. And I hope it will become a place of happiness for you.”

  Helena smiled back at him. He was extraordinarily attractive in this mood. He did not let go of her fingers. After Mrs. Hood returned and all four of them began to share the jokes, he still kept her hand in his, while his thumb began to weave a delicious pattern across her palm.

  Suddenly, he leaped to his feet.

  “Enough! Tomorrow we must hire in staff and open the house. We shall stay here for what’s left of the summer. But now to bed!”

  “Will her ladyship require any assistance, my lord?” Mrs. Hood asked.

  Richard gave Helena a questioning glance and smiled. “None that I can’t provide,” he said to the housekeeper. “We’ll see you in the morning. Good night!”

  Helena followed him through the silent hallways and up several flights of stairs. At last, he pushed open a solid oak door and led her inside. She felt instantly welcome. The room was beautiful. A frieze of plaster leaves and flowers ran around the ceiling and down to the fireplace. Though the September night was not cold, a fire burned brightly in the grate. Fresh linen sheets were already turned back on the large bed.

  “This is your room,” he said. “Do you like it?”

  “How could I not? It’s lovely.”

  “Then I shall share it with you tonight.”

  Helena’s blood turned instantly to water. She felt her voice stick solidly in her throat, and gulped.

  “I thought you preferred to sleep alone,” she mumbled at last.

  “Yes, but I don�
��t intend that we sleep, my dear. You’re my bride, remember? It’s time that I ravished you, don’t you think?”

  She knew there was no color left in her face. In fact, she felt faint. She must not give way to the vapors!

  Richard took her hand and sat her in a chair by the fire.

  “We are married and this is what married people do. Without it there would be no babies and that would be a great shame, wouldn’t it?” Helena could feel her hand tremble in his, but he raised her fingers to his lips and gently kissed her palm. “The great secret is that there is nothing more wonderful in the world.”

  “Than babies?” Helena asked, deliberately misunderstanding.

  Richard laughed. “Than what you are about to discover, which is why it’s called making love. Don’t be afraid, sweetheart. You will like it, and if you don’t, I’ll stop. It’s no worse, I assure you, than a cavalry charge.”

  She forced herself to be calm, but her voice shook. “Don’t tease me, Richard! I have never been in a cavalry charge.”

  “Yes, I know. But I have.”

  He went to the side table and poured her a glass of wine. It shone like a ruby in the firelight.

  “Now drink this very slowly and think of nothing but the way it tastes. I’ll be back in a moment.”

  There was a door at the side of the room, and he stepped through it. Obviously, his bedchamber lay beyond.

  The moment he was gone, Helena leaped to her feet and began to pace frantically back and forth. Every woman went through this, and usually on the wedding night, not several days later. Surely it couldn’t be so dreadful?

  Yet she wanted to run out of the house into the dark garden and hide. Good God! She had made him solemn vows at the little church in Exeter. She couldn’t back out now. He was providing her with a home and protection, and this was part of the bargain, wasn’t it?

  What did he expect of her? Should she undress and put on her nightgown? Take down her hair? She had no idea. Without thinking, she went back to the fireplace and gulped down the wine.

  The door opened behind her and she whirled around.

  “You have the look of a doe at bay, Helena, or the princess tied to a rock awaiting the dragon,” Richard said softly. He was dressed in a long blue silk robe open at the neck. The lines of his throat were shadowed like a sculpture in the firelight, and his fair head shone like a halo. The faintest of smiles played at the corners of his mouth. “I thought you were made of nobler stuff.”