Page 37 of Marriage Most Scandalous
Sebastian shook his head. He was having a hard time grasping all the implications Denton’s attitude raised. He’d expected, under the circumstances, for Denton at least to profess an undying love for his wife, his excuse for keeping her. But apparently no one liked Juliette, not even her husband. So why were they still married?
He didn’t really expect an answer, but he asked anyway, “Why haven’t you divorced her?”
Denton exploded vehemently, “Good God, after eleven years you come home with a flimsy excuse and immediately start stirring the pot. Well, I’ve news for you. My wife and I are none of your bloody business.”
“I disagree,” Sebastian said darkly. “Your wife caused me to kill my best friend and lose the life I’d known up to that point.”
He hadn’t meant to show the new side of him, at least not to his brother. But he could tell by Denton’s brief look of wariness that he just had.
He shook off the air of menace he could so easily assume and even offered somewhat of a smile. He said mildly, “I debated on letting Maggie come home a’tall. Her place is with me now, and my place isn’t here. But I’ve missed Abbie. I wanted this chance to see her again before it’s too late. Her advanced age puts a narrow window on that opportunity. If you want to call that a flimsy reason, so be it.”
Abashed, Denton said, “Sorry. It appears you’ll have plenty of time to visit with Grandmother now. Are you going to stay until Father recovers? Culden wants Maggie to play nurse. Figures father will at least listen to her about remaining in bed till he’s better.”
“I haven’t thought that far ahead. I expected to have to fight my way in to see Abbie. I didn’t expect Father to be so delirious he didn’t even recognize me.”
“Rather a stroke of . . .”
Denton didn’t finish, causing Sebastian to laugh shortly. “Bad luck? Well, I doubt I’ll be here long in any case. When do you expect your wife back?”
“In a few days, possibly the end of the week.” Then suspiciously, “Why?”
Sebastian shrugged offhandedly. “I may leave before then. I’m not sure I can come face-to-face with that woman again—without killing her.”
“That’s nothing to joke about, Seb.”
“I wasn’t joking,” Sebastian said simply. “By the by, what happened to your leg to cause a limp?”
Whether it was his remark about his wife or the mention of the limp, Denton walked away without answering. Sebastian let him go. They both had enough to think about for the moment.
Chapter 20
EDNA ARRIVED LATE THAT AFTERNOONwith several of Margaret’s trunks full of clothes. Apparently Sebastian had sent word that they would be staying at Edgewood for a while. Margaret had been given her old room. It was a large room, much more space than she needed, but having spent four years in it during her stay here, she felt quite comfortable and at home there.
She had time to change clothes before dinner. Most of her wardrobe was in the pale pastels of maidenhood that were popular among young debutantes, but she did own a few gowns in more mature colors, which she wore at home when she wasn’t expecting company. Now that she was “married,” it would be appropriate to wear the darker colors. She actually preferred them, since most dark colors seemed to make her hair appear a lighter, more fashionable shade. Her hair was certainly not her best feature. Blonde was fashionable. Sandy brown was nondescript.
Edna knew her well and had packed all of those darker shades for her stay at Edgewood, including several that were appropriate for dinner. Margaret chose a deep sapphire blue gown, fashionably low cut with tiny puffs off the shoulders and tight sleeves to the wrists. She hadn’t particularly cared for the waistless empire style the French had made so popular during Napoleon’s reign and had been glad to see the return of tight waists and shapely skirts. Her tiny waist was one of her best features, after all, but she’d rarely gotten to show that off until the fashions had recently changed. She had Edna leave a few tendrils of hair curled and dangling to her shoulders. Contrasted with the deep blue of the gown, they appeared almost blonde in the bright lamplight.
“And where will your husband be sleeping while you’re here?” Edna wanted to know.
Margaret noted the disapproval in her maid’s voice but kept her answer light, replying, “Wherever he used to sleep, I imagine. They’ve given me my old room here, I’m sure they did the same for him. Married couples in our circles don’t usually share the same room. You know that.”
Edna humphed. “Just be careful in this charade you’re playing, Maggie. Don’t let that man take any liberties that he wouldn’t otherwise be allowed, just because you’re pretending to be married to him.”
“You worry too much,” Margaret replied. “He’s here to find out what’s really going on, no more than that. And he knows I don’t really like him. I was quite frank with him about that.”
“Good. That should keep him from getting any inappropriate ideas.”
Margaret might have agreed, if Sebastian hadn’t kissed her for Denton’s benefit earlier, but she wasn’t about to mention that to Edna.
Margaret rushed through the rest of her preparations, wanting to check on Douglas again before she went downstairs. He still hadn’t woken up again. That was starting to worry her, but she’d wait and see what Dr. Culden had to say about it when he returned. Douglas’s fever seemed no higher, but then it had been very high to begin with and still was. The two maids she had set to take turns sitting with him were to summon her immediately when he woke, no matter the hour. Until he did wake, she wouldn’t be able to get Dr. Culden’s “worse” complication out of her mind.
She hadn’t seen Sebastian again after the doctor left earlier. He was waiting for her, though, at the bottom of the stairs. The way his eyes moved over her as she descended made her feel quite selfconscious. Usually when a man looked at her like that she felt nothing out of the ordinary. When Sebastian did it she felt far too much.
“You look lovely, m’dear.”
“There’s no need to begin the performance until you have an audience,” she huffed.
She started to pass him. His hand caught her arm and pulled her back against his chest. His words fell by her ear.
