Page 138 of Regency Whispers: Scandalous Matches

‘Of course she can,’ Maria said, shaking her head. ‘Perhaps not within the social circles we move in, but there are plenty of women who reside with a man who is not their husband, someone who provides a home for them, love, children.’

‘You go too far, Maria,’ he said wearily. ‘Alice would not do that.’

‘No, she wouldn’t,’ his sister-in-law said quietly. ‘You are right, but perhaps it serves to remind you that in saying you will never have children, you are also saying she will never have children. You are making a significant decision about Alice’s future and expecting her to accept it without discussion.’

‘We have discussed it.’

‘Telling her you will never father a child and discussing the issue are not the same, Simon,’ she chastised gently.

‘I need some time to think,’ Simon said, aware he sounded unforgivably rude, but his head was spinning, and he had the sudden urge to be alone. He needed time to work through everything Maria had said to him. The last thing he wanted was to make Alice unhappy.

‘Of course. I will return home and check on Alice. You take all the time you need.’

It was almost dark by the time Simon dismounted outside the townhouse, handing Socrates’s reins to the groom and looking up at the window of the room where Alice was recuperating. He was eager to return to her side. For the past week they had spent hardly any time apart, but he knew he would have to hold his tongue and perhaps even lie to her about what he and Maria had discussed that afternoon.

On his ride through Hyde Park after Maria had left him, he had turned over their conversation, examining it from each possible angle, until his head had started to throb. He had been unable to concentrate, so he had dismounted and sat on a bench overlooking the lake, trying to think of nothing but the ripples on the water in front of him.

As he sat, he had come to a realisation, one that he wished to share with Alice, but he knew she was not up to it yet. It might be weeks before she was strong enough to hear what he had to say, and the last thing he wanted to do was set her recovery back by any degree.

‘I missed you,’ Alice said as he knocked on the door and entered. Maria had been sitting by the bed, but she rose when Simon entered and murmured an excuse to go. Simon caught her by the hand as she walked past him, and Maria paused.

He smiled at her, squeezing her hand gently, and she searched his eyes for the answer to an unspoken question, and then she reached out and embraced him. Maria was the only person who could speak to him so freely and he would forgive in a heartbeat.

When they were alone, Alice looked at him curiously. ‘What was that about?’

‘Whilst we were out, Maria reminded me what a fool I was being.’

‘A fool?’

‘Yes.’ He leaned down and kissed Alice on the forehead. ‘It does not matter, my sweet. You rest, and I will tell you everything when you are recovered.’

Chapter Twenty

Three weeks later Alice stepped out of the door for the first time in a month. Her stitches had been removed by Dr Black, and she was declared fit to start building up to her normal levels of activity. To her dismay she had lost some muscle whilst invalided, and she knew it would not be an easy feat to get back to rushing around London, attending to her various commitments.

Alice was determined to make a good start and today had suggested she and Simon step out for a short walk around the local streets. It was early, only a little past nine o’clock in the morning. Alice had chosen this time deliberately for two reasons. The first was to avoid the jostling of people walking on the pavements later in the day. At nine o’clock most wealthy people were still at breakfast or readying themselves for the day, so the streets around Grosvenor Square were quiet. The second reason was that she did not wish to encounter any of her friends and acquaintances when she left the house for the first time. She was excited to get back to normal, but she did not particularly want to stop to reassure people she was recovering well multiple times on her walk.

‘Are you ready?’

She breathed in deeply and then nodded. ‘I am ready.’

‘You will tell me if you start to tire?’

‘I promise.’

They set off at a sedate pace, walking as you would if accompanying an elderly relative out and about, but after she had got used to moving outside again, Alice found she did not mind ambling along. She was pleasantly surprised to find her wound did not pull too much when she walked. Dr Black was right: the skin had knitted together beautifully, leaving her with a neat scar that he assured her would get smaller with time.

Simon was quiet as they walked, and Alice wondered what he was thinking. He had been attentive these last few weeks, but sometimes she thought he was distracted, staring off into the distance for some time before focussing his attention in the room again. Once or twice she had panicked that he might be thinking about leaving again, finally fed up of life in London, life with her. Quickly she had pushed away the thought. Alice was trying to enjoy what time they did share and not think too much on the future, despite wishing Simon would fall to his knees, declare himself a fool and tell her he had loved her since their very first kiss.

They turned at the corner, planning on doing a small loop around the local streets before ending up back home. As they crossed the road to start on the second side of the square, a man in the distance called out.

Alice was horrified to find she stiffened, unable to move for a second. It was her first time out since the attack, and although physically she was more than ready, she did feel a little apprehensive.

The man in the distance called again, waving jovially.

‘Northumberland,’ the person shouted, taking his hat from his head and waving it.

‘I take it you know that man?’