Pleasures of the Night by Heather Boyd

Chapter 24

Teddy arrived back in London the evening before Eugenia was due to arrive in the slower-moving carriage, exhausted and mud splattered. His first port of call the next morning, though, was to visit Mrs. Sophie Darling and her children in Duke Street, and check that all was well.

He was days late in checking on her, thanks to his trip with Eugenia, though he felt no guilt over that. He regretted nothing of that trip to Dover. He was completely and utterly in love and knew what should come next in his life, once the drama surrounding Eugenia had subsided and Regis Bagshaw was put in his proper place.

He drew his horse to a halt before the townhouse he’d leased for Sophie and dismounted, staggering a bit as his legs adjusted to his weight again. The hard ride back to London had left him aching and in need of rest. Getting back on his horse this morning had been a painful experience, but as he’d rode, he gradually had grown more comfortable.

There was a hitching post outside Mrs. Darling’s home and, as usual, a willing urchin appeared out of nowhere to watch over his horse for the price of a shilling.

He glanced around the street, surprised to hear the sound of feminine peals of laughter echoing off the townhouses. Someone was having a remarkably good morning.

He struggled up the stairs to knock on Mrs. Darling’s home.

The butler he’d hired appeared, but the man seemed uncertain about letting him in. “Is there a problem?”

“No sir, but…”

It was then that he realized the laughter was coming from inside Mrs. Darling’s home. Concerned a visitor might be taking advantage of Sophie’s weakened state, he barged past the butler and burst into the parlor, intending to ask the woman to moderate her tone.

But there was no stranger, only Sophie, sitting across a gentleman’s knee.

And Mrs. Darling was not just laughing with the man, she was kissing him, too!

He averted his eyes quickly and cleared his throat repeatedly.

“Oh! Good lord, sir,” Sophie cried out, jumping off the man’s lap. “I wasn’t expecting you to call today.”

He heard the rustle of fabric and a whispered demand from the strange gentleman she’d been on top of to explain who “he” is. He being Teddy.

“It’s only my landlord.”

Given that Teddy funded Sophie and her family completely, and had done so for so many months, he was highly offended by her reply. “Landlord? I suppose you could put it that way.”

The old fellow frowned. “I thought you said he was old and walked with a limp.”

He stared at Sophie, incredulous about that description. She had the sense to look guilty for a moment, but it only lasted a moment before her smile reappeared. “I didn’t want you to get the wrong impression, Commodore.” She turned that smile on Teddy. “Sir, I’m so happy to see you’ve finally come about the rent.”

“Rent?”

What the devil was she talking about? She paid no rent. He paid the lease out of his own pocket for her.

“I’ll settle the bill now, Commodore, and be right back. If you’ll just come this way, sir.” Sophie took hold of his arm and propelled him into a nearby chamber and firmly shut the door. She turned swiftly, frowning. “Ooh, you’re going to spoil a perfect day,” she complained.

Teddy folded his arms over his chest and glared at her. “What game are you playing with that poor fellow, madam?”

“Nothing that concerns you, sir.”

“It bloody well does concern me what goes on under this roof,” he nearly shouted. He quickly regained hold of his temper but continued to glare at the woman who he’d expected to find alone or ill. “I won’t have that fellow coming round and taking advantage of you in your weakened state.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Oh, are all men blind? Your toplofty ways were the reason I couldn’t take you into my confidence. A more proper man has never lived than the heir to the Exeter estates.” She moved to sit on the window seat, and Teddy followed, annoyed.

“I had no idea you despised my aid.”

She huffed. “How would you know, when you never stay more than a few minutes at a time? The commodore was aboard my husband’s vessel. He had a soft spot for me while my husband was alive—but I never encouraged him, I’ll have you know. Now I’m widowed, and he is too, he’s been coming round to check on me. If I’d told the commodore I was squared away because of your aid, he’d have never kept coming back so often.”

There was a strange sort of logic to her words, but Teddy still didn’t like being misrepresented. “So, your plan is to…what?”

“Marry him as soon as can be.” She waved her hand at him, where a thin gold band now adorned her ring finger. “The commodore has just made me an offer, and I accepted. I am the happiest woman in all of England!”

“Congratulations, madam,” he said dryly. But then he peered at her. “Is it my imagination, or are you in perfect health?”

She waved her hand about airily. “My malady comes and goes.”

“That is not what you told me at any time that I called,” he ground out.

“If I’d gotten better too quick, you’d have withdrawn your support, and I couldn’t be sure of the commodore until he proposed today.”

He gaped. “What manner of woman are you?”

Sophie pouted. “A lady who’d never have lifted her skirts without a marriage proposal first, not even for a duke’s heir.”

“I wasn’t going to ask you to,” he hastened to declare. “Ever.”

She glared at him, and he glared back, and then her anger faded from her face. “You didn’t have to say it that way.”

Teddy rolled his eyes. “Devil take it! Did you really believe I was waiting for your health to improve so I could seduce you?”

She twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “Well, I am very pretty.”

“Not enough to tempt me.”

Her gaze grew definitely frosty. “The commodore likes the way I look just fine,” she announced and shrugged. “I’d best return to my commodore before he gets jealous that we’re all alone.”

Teddy shook his head. He’d been played for a fool by the widow, and she was still intent on using him to further her hold on the poor commodore. “He’s no reason to think I’d want you that way unless you suggested it,” he said with more spite in his voice than he probably should have.

“You don’t have to take that tone with me, Mr. I’ll-one-day-be-a-duke-Berringer.” Sophie smiled tightly. “Don’t you dare ruin this one chance for my children and me to have a settled life with a good man. I love him.”

Teddy squared his shoulders to respond but before he worked out what to say next, she flounced out of the room.

He should by rights warn the commodore that he’d been lied to about Sophie’s arrangement with him here, but…what good would that serve? Teddy had hoped one day that Sophie would find herself a husband and a good life elsewhere, hadn’t he? She claimed to be in love, and the commodore had liked her enough to propose. It could be a good match for all he knew.

He followed Sophie back to the sitting room where the commodore was sipping port, despite the early hour of the day. Several of the children were there now, too, and after being greeted by them, they went off to their own games somewhere in the house as if he didn’t matter to them anymore.

He felt a pang of loss, but it lasted only a moment.

He’d just been a means of survival for all of them.

Sophie slipped from the room shortly after a period of awkwardness, promising to return in several moments with a fresh glass for Teddy.

After her steps could no longer be heard, the commodore cleared his throat. “You mustn’t think badly of her.”

“For what?”

“Pretending her generous young patron didn’t exist. I knew she’d fallen on hard times and that someone had to be paying her way,” he murmured.

“She was near death when I met her,” Teddy warned him.

“Yes, her oldest boy told me how you charged in to save her life, fed them all, and moved them to better lodgings here. I am beyond grateful for your intervention while I was away, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to be Sophie’s hero from now on.”

Teddy studied the fellow. There was apparently no reason to warn the commodore. He’d already seen through Sophie’s lies and still wanted to marry her. It was only Sophie who believed continuing her deceptions were necessary. “I have no objection so long as you treat her well, and the children, too.”

The man nodded, sipping his port. “The eldest wants to go for the navy like his father did, so I’ve found him a place with my old ship.”

“Mad for the navy, he’s been. He’ll be grateful, I’m sure,” Teddy mused, remembering their trip to the docks only a month ago and the boy’s excitement. The boy had known everything that there was to know about the vessels docked alongside. Teddy had learned a lot from the boy that day. “I was going to see if I could help him gain a commission… Well, none of that matters now, I suppose.”

The commodore pursed his lips. “My Sophie treated you ill, sir, but you have my undying thanks for being a good and decent man who only wanted the best for her and the children.”

Teddy nodded and decided not to waste another moment here. Sophie and her children would be adequately cared for by the commodore. “If you don’t mind my asking, where will you all live when you are married?”

“Dover. I’m retired now, been staying at a hotel not far away so I could be close to Sophie. I gave up my commission when I set out to find her, you see,” the commodore confessed. “Got a nice pension from the navy, and we’ll do all right living with my old mama. Going to leave this place by week’s end, by the by, and move in together there. Servants are keen to come with her, so you needn’t worry about their wages anymore.”

Teddy nodded. It seemed that his aid was no longer needed for anything but ending the lease when Sophie and the children had moved out. The cunning Sophie had certainly fallen on her feet.

Since she hadn’t returned, and it never took this long to find a fresh glass even in a mansion, he realized she wanted to avoid speaking with him again. It was the perfect time to make his own escape. He had nothing more to say or do here anyway.

He nodded to the commodore, “If you’ll give my apologies to Mrs. Darling when she comes back. Tell her I wish her all the best in her new life.”

The commodore frowned at the far door to which Sophie had disappeared through, clearly disappointed not to see her return, but then he shrugged. “Thank you, sir. She’ll be sorry to have missed your leaving.”

No, she probably wouldn’t be.

Teddy saw himself out.

It was only when he was stumbling down the front stairs to retrieve his horse that he realized he’d never actually been introduced to the commodore by name, or the commodore to him, either. He shrugged away the slight and turned for Mayfair and home.

The first person he saw there was Exeter.

“I heard you were back,” he cried, jumping to his feet in the library and rushing over. “Why didn’t you wake us?”

“You were sleeping,” Teddy reminded him. He glanced down at his clothes. He wanted a bath, and then a change of clothes before meeting Eugenia at Lord Wharton’s house.

“How was your journey?” Exeter asked, offering him a sherry.

Teddy declined. “Good and bad. I never actually made it as far as the estate you wanted me to inspect.”

“Nothing wrong with you, I trust?”

“No. Nothing at all.” He glanced at the duke, hating that he’d have to lie to the man. But it was impossible to tell him the truth about Eugenia yet. “I, um, holed up in an inn for a few days with a lovely distraction on the way south.”

The duke blinked, and then a slow smile crossed his face as he sat down. “Happens to all of us at some point.”

“You’re not angry I didn’t get to see the estate for you?”

The duke patted the empty cushion beside him. “Your life shouldn’t be all work and no play, Teddy. The estate purchase wasn’t urgent.”

“I’m glad.” He sat and stretched out his legs with a groan. “I should go and catch up on some sleep. I left the carriage behind to ride for the return.”

The duke chuckled. “Tell me about your lovely distraction.”

Teddy laughed. “Beautiful and smart.”

The duke nodded. “Those are excellent qualities to look for in a wife.”

“I agree with you.”

The duke sipped his drink and stared straight ahead. “Are you in love with her?”

“Yes.”

The duke sucked in a breath. “Will it pass?”

“No.”

The duke exhaled. “I am happy for you, but also…”

“Don’t be worried. I know what I’m doing,” he promised, as he slapped the duke on the knee.

“Everyone thinks so, usually until it goes horribly wrong.” The duke pulled a face. “If it really is love, don’t let her get away.”

“I have no intention of letting that happen.”

The duke grinned. “When do you plan to see her next?”

“Today.”

“So, she’s now back in London, too.” The duke raised a brow. “Will I eventually meet her?”

Teddy put his hand on the duke’s shoulder as he raised himself back up to his feet. If he sat still for too long, he was afraid he might nod off sitting upright. “You already have.”

The duke gaped. “Really? Imagine that. Well, well, well.”

“You’ve introduced me to a lot of women, Sinclair, and she’s definitely not the woman you’re thinking of.”

Teddy poured himself a drink from a crystal water pitcher.

“Never thought you’d look at any of my suggestions twice. Miss Waters?”

Teddy tossed down the contents of his water glass and refilled it. “No, not even close. I’ve always said you are quite terrible at guessing games, cousin.”

The duke grimaced. “Impertinent pup.”

“Grumpy old duke,” he replied, smiling.

Sinclair, despite being called grumpy and old, laughed. He ought not to tease Sinclair about so important a subject, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He was in too much of a good mood, despite his tiredness.

He was going to ask Eugenia to marry him as soon as her scandal was taken care of.

“It is no one you might imagine I would pick, but she will be perfect for me and, like me, will also expect you to live to a ripe old age of eight and one hundred years.”

“Ripe?!”

Teddy laughed softly. “Perhaps I could have phrased that better.”

“Indeed, you should have,” he said, bristling a little. “I do not smell, sir.”

His grace, the Duke of Exeter, took control of his body odors very seriously. He bathed frequently and applied cologne in strict moderation. Teddy wished other lords would adopt his good example, especially when they were all crowded together.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you’ve increased the age I must live to by another five years.”

“That’s just for starters,” Teddy promised.

The duke suddenly beamed. “When can we expect to host a dinner in her honor?”

“When the time is right and not a moment before. I haven’t asked her to marry me yet.”

The duke made an unhappy sound.

“Don’t be concerned. She knows I love her.”

“Then what is the holdup?”

Teddy tried not to grin. He’d be having this same discussion with Sinclair until the day he announced his engagement, most likely. Sinclair would continue to pester him, and Teddy would do his best to evade giving an actual answer. It would be interesting to see if Sinclair ever guessed correctly, though. “Where is her grace today?”

“Visiting Lady Wharton to see if there is anything we can do.” The duke’s eyes widened. “Oh, do you even know the fuss that’s gone on while you were away.”

“What fuss?”

The duke leaned forward. “Sylvia Hillcrest’s cousin has disappeared. Poof. Gone in the dead of night.”

He pretended to be shocked. “No! Which one?”

“The smart one? The eldest.”

“Miss Eugenia Hillcrest,” he murmured, suddenly missing her very much. It had been a whole two days since he’d stood in the same room with her. Leaving her to travel alone had been hard, but she’d had the company of her mother-in-law to amuse her along the way.

“No, it’s Mrs. Bagshaw now. I thought you were here for that development.”

“Yes, of course, I was, but it slipped my mind while I was away.”

The duke refilled his glass. “So, the lady has been pretending to be a spinster when she was a married woman all along. And then one night without warning, she was suddenly gone. No one knows where or how. Wharton is furious. So is her husband.”

“What’s been done to recover her?”

“Runners were sent out, but Wharton is said to have suspected the husband of abducting her. It was a vile confrontation between them, I hear.”

Teddy winced. “Did they come to blows?”

“No. The husband accused Wharton of spiriting her away. Wharton denied any such thing. Many expected Wharton to call him out for the suggestion of interference in the marriage, but he didn’t.”

“Wharton doing nothing is impossible to imagine. What did he do?”

“Called off his search entirely, saying that Bagshaw could look for his wife himself and pay the bill for it. Personally, I think Wharton is waiting.”

“For what?”

“For Eugenia to return with proof the fellow is an imposter. She’s claimed all along apparently that the man couldn’t be her husband.”

Wharton was a smart man. That explains why he’d noticed no sign of pursuit on the way back from Dover. He wondered if Aurora had told Wharton the truth of where Eugenia had gone and why, or if he’d figured out her intentions for himself. “An imposter? I don’t believe it!”

“You really do need to keep an open mind in matters of the heart, cousin. Before she disappeared, Mrs. Bagshaw did admit to being a wife but insisted that the man claiming to be her husband was an imposter. Public opinion sways to and fro on whether to side with her or him at this point. Either way, after this, I doubt she’d ever be welcomed in society very often.”

Teddy straightened, alarmed by the news. “Surely you would not give her the cut, too, cousin?”

“No, most likely not, but I am only one man. It is the hostesses who will remove her from any invitation lists. They can be quite vicious when a lady fails to meet their high standards.”

Most of the hostesses were married, and many conducted illicit affairs. Hell, he’d been propositioned by quite a few just in the last month because he was a duke’s heir. They had no moral high ground to stand on with him. If they cut Eugenia over Regis Bagshaw, he’d give them the cut direct, too. “I would believe Eugenia any day. If he turns out to be an imposter, that is hardly her fault.”

“Yes, true. But,” the duke said with a smile, “these are the thorny problems I happily leave in my wife’s capable hands nowadays.”

The Duchess of Exeter, a woman from a common country upbringing rather than descending from a regal family, would likely welcome Eugenia into her home. And when they were known to be married, everything would be quickly smoothed over.

But that might not be soon.

It all depended on Eugenia’s wishes for the future. He hoped she could see the way forward as he did. Always together.