The Bridegroom's Bargain

Richard moved away abruptly and went to the window, where he stood, staring out. There was a short silence.

Then Lexi said, ‘If it’s not that, what do you want, Deverell?’

He turned round. ‘We have an agreement. Are you prepared to discuss it with me?’

‘It appears I have no choice.’

He nodded, then turned to the chest of drawers next to him. After a moment’s search he came back with a fresh linen nightgown in his hands, which he put on the bed in front of her. ‘Put this on before we start,’ he said. ‘You must be uncomfortable in that wet nightgown.’

‘No!’

‘Are you not yet strong enough to change your own nightgown?’

‘Of course I’m strong enough! But I’m not going to undress while you’re here!’

‘Shall I remind you? I’m your husband. I have every right to be here. I could take every stitch off you if I chose, and no one could object. Do you wish me to do it?’ His voice was perfectly even. ‘No!’

‘Then do as I say. Oh, if it makes you easier I’ll look out of the window. But I’m not leaving this room, Alexandra.’

She sat up and hastily changed her gown, then lay down again, pulling the sheets up almost over her face. He turned and gave a grim nod when he saw her. ‘I think you’re quite strong enough to sit up. In fact, tomorrow you will get up and start your new life.’

Lexi stiffened. ‘And what is that to be, pray?’

‘That is what I want to discuss, my dear. Sit up like a good girl. If I give you another glass of water, will you throw it at me?’

‘No, I’d like one, please,’ she said sullenly, sitting up. ‘I’m thirsty.’

When she had drunk he took the glass again and sat down in the wing chair. ‘So far, so good,’ he said. ‘Now! We have to decide how we are to manage for the next six months, but I should like to sort one or two things out first.’ He paused and eyed her curiously. ‘Tell me when you first decided that you wanted to kill me. I don’t think you had it in mind when you accepted my offer of marriage.’

‘No,’ she said in a low voice. They were both silent for a moment as they remembered her relief and happiness when he had asked her to marry him. There had been no doubts then. When he had insisted that the wedding should take place as soon as possible she had made no objection. Marriage to Richard had seemed then to be a safe haven in a time of distress.

‘So…when did you…change your mind about me?’

‘Very soon after. I heard two of the servants gossiping, and, though I know I shouldn’t have, I listened.’ She stopped. ‘I almost wish now that I hadn’t… They had seen you and Papa playing cards the evening before he died. Papa had been very angry, they said. He had accused you of ruining him and all his family.’ She turned and looked straight into his eyes. ‘And you haven’t tried to deny it, have you, Deverell?’ she said bitterly. ‘You killed Johnny, and I suppose you might say that you killed my father, too. You took Rawdon from him, and he died the next day.’

‘If you knew how much I regretted that whole business!’ Richard’s voice was constricted. ‘I don’t often make such disastrous mistakes. I wanted to help, I assure you.’

‘Help? How “help”? By taking away everything my father lived for? By leaving him with nothing? You knew how much he loved Rawdon, how proud he was of his name, his inheritance! You knew how much he suffered when Johnny died. You even helped him to trace Mark Rawdon, so that he could invite his heir to live with us, to get to know and love Rawdon as much as he did! And what was left of Rawdon after you had done your worst? What was there to leave to Mark? The house, and a small farm, that was all! How could Rawdon possibly survive on that? My father died of a broken heart! And you are to blame!’

By this time tears were running down Lexi’s cheeks as she stammered out her accusations at him. Richard got out of the chair and held up his hand.

‘Don’t! Don’t, please! You’ll make yourself ill again, and I—’ He stopped for a moment. ‘I don’t like to see you in such a state. We’ll continue this talk another time.’

‘No! We’ll finish it now! I accepted your offer in good faith, Deverell. I wanted to marry you because I thought I loved you. But after I heard about that game I wanted never to see you again.’

‘Why didn’t you ask me about it? I thought you trusted me.’

‘I wanted to. I tried to. But after that day you were never there! You were always closeted with the agents, the lawyers and all the others. I could never get near you!’

‘That’s not good enough, Alexandra. I had a lot of business to get through, which had to be finished before our marriage. But I would have made time for you if you had asked me. Why didn’t you try harder to see me?’

‘Because I thought of something better.’

‘I can guess what it was. You decided not to break our engagement but to marry me after all, and ask for Rawdon as a wedding present. Was that it?’

‘Yes. It was the only way to save Rawdon. I would get you to give the lands back to Mark, and…and my father’s ghost would be happy.’

‘And what about you in all this? Did you see yourself as a martyr to the cause?’ he asked with a touch of bitterness. ‘Was a lifetime in my contaminating presence a price you were prepared to pay?’

‘I…I…Yes! Yes, I was.’

‘And at what point did you decide that you couldn’t face it after all? That killing me was a better solution?’

‘No, no, you’re wrong! It wasn’t my plan to kill you at all at first. I would have lived with you and been as good a wife as I could—’

He got up again. ‘How very noble of you!’ he said sardonically. ‘Did it never occur to you that I might not want such a wife? Did it never cross your mind that I might, just might, have given what I had won back to you, out of friendship, without any strings at all? Did you never ask yourself why I had done such a terrible thing to your father, a man I had looked up to all my life? A friend of mine! Of course not! You never were strong on logic, were you?’

‘What do you mean?’ she demanded. He turned away and went back to the window. Lexi waited, then got out of bed, flung on her wrapper and came over to join him. ‘What do you mean, Deverell? I don’t believe you would have given it all back as easily as that! Why would you do that? Explain what you meant!’

When Richard turned his expression was not encouraging. Lexi stood and faced him. Her mane of hair had escaped from its ribbons and lay in wild disorder over her shoulders and down her back in a stream of copper curls. Below the nightgown and wrapper could be seen slender ankles and bare feet. But there was no sign of self-consciousness or fear as she demanded yet again, ‘What did you mean?’

He looked down. ‘Of course I never intended to keep what I had won! If your father had lived, I would have returned it all, once he had recovered his senses. But he…he was not himself. He had done something…foolish, something that would have damaged his reputation. I decided—on an impulse, I admit—to do what I could to put it right, or at least to cover it up, but he died before I could tell him what I intended to do.’

‘What had he done?’

‘You needn’t concern yourself. It’s all been taken care of since. That’s why I was so busy before our wedding.’

‘Tell me what it was! I demand to know!’

‘I’m sorry. I can’t tell you.’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘It must have something to do with money,’ she said reflectively. ‘I know he had been borrowing a lot, and I didn’t understand why he had to—Rawdon has always been so wealthy. But borrowing doesn’t damage reputations…’ She wandered back to the bed and sat down on the edge. She looked up. ‘It wasn’t the entailed land, was it?’ When he made no reply she exclaimed, ‘Oh, it can’t have been! My father would never borrow against entailed land! It’s not only dishonourable, it’s against the law!’

‘Alexandra, either get back into bed or ring for the maid and get dressed. It is not…sensible to wander about in your nightwear. And your hair—’ Richard stopped. ‘Your hair is very untidy.’

His sudden criticism distracted her as he had known it would. She looked at him with a touch of her old spirit. ‘But we’re man and wife, Deverell. Surely you cannot object to my being déshabillée in my own room?’

‘On the contrary, my dear,’ Richard said softly, coming closer. ‘I find it very…appealing.’

Lexi hastily got back into bed and pulled the bedclothes around her. ‘No, you don’t,’ she said defiantly. ‘You haven’t the stomach for me, remember?’

He gazed at her for a moment, then said, ‘I think you must be feeling better. I’ll send your maid to you. Tell her you wish to go downstairs for dinner. It would do you good to get out of this room for a while this evening. I’ll call for you, and we’ll go down together.’

On his way to the door he said, ‘Aunt Honoria will be there this evening, so we’ll postpone any further talk till tomorrow. Tonight we’ll practise a little social behaviour, instead.’

‘Aren’t you afraid I’ll make another scene?’

He stood at the door. ‘I am quite sure you won’t. I have your promise, remember?’

‘There was nothing in that agreement about my behaving as your wife in company!’

‘I was talking of the one you made in the church, Alexandra. The marriage service. Part of what we promised each other—till death us do part—was mutual society, help and comfort. I don’t ask for any of the rest you promised me then, not for the moment, at least. So, can’t you meet me halfway? You’re not a girl who breaks promises willingly, and here is one that is easy enough to keep.’

‘Why do you want me to keep you company? I would have thought you’d be happy to leave me to myself.’

He paused. After a moment he said, ‘We don’t wish to stir up gossip, especially as there are still so many unanswered questions between us. Let’s put a brave face on our marriage in public, pretend it was for the right reasons. It may only be for six months. Can you do it?’

She looked at him, her eyes dark with unhappiness. ‘I’ll try,’ she said. ‘But don’t attempt to tell me it will be easy. And if what you say is true, then I intend to find out what it was my father did, Deverell. Don’t think you can put me off a second time!’

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