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She shivered as a blush bloomed across her cheeks. How right he was—she had seduced him from the moment she had set eyes on his fine features.
“Then I fell pregnant. Or so I thought. You must understand, nobody had taught me adequately, and I believed with honesty that I had accomplished his goal. William was pleased, and in his haste to ensure the child’s legitimacy, quickly arranged, with the help of Lucretia, our poorly attended wedding. I was so happy that he wanted me, I paid little attention to any other advice from my friends.”
“Mm. And the baby?” He glanced down at her belly.
“I was mistaken. It was not deliberate on my part. I simply lost count of the days, then when he told me he wanted me to marry him, I lied and pretended. I felt awfully guilty on our wedding night. He saw the evidence and refused to touch me.”
“The marriage was not officially consummated?”
“No. Worse, though, he heard from others that my mother lost two sons in infancy. Suddenly, he was furious with me, accused me of hiding family secrets. I had no idea until then how important a male heir was to him.”
“You left him?”
“I never moved into his family home. I stayed at Lucretia’s and assumed she would support me. Except…” Jenny blinked away the tears. “She deceived me. Unknown to me, she had foisted her own daughter, Kate, into his arms, claiming she would produce many heirs. Lucretia has four sons from a previous marriage.”
“This began after you married William?”
She sniffed. “No. He had already bedded her many times betwixt our trysts in the inns. He was playing to see which one of us would conceive first. I failed.”
“The marriage?”
“Annulled. It was not easy, of course, and took nearly two years, during which Kate fell pregnant. The grounds for annulment were that I was not twenty-one and consent had not been given. My father is deceased, my grandfather incapacitated, and Lucretia had abused her position as my guardian. The bishop of London granted the annulment once both my grandmother and William’s father met one awful day. She shouted at him, and he shouted terrible things back. They both blamed Lucretia, who, in turn, used her daughter to salvage the situation because by then Kate was with child and William had to marry her. The scandal for my godmother was worse. She was scorned for her treatment of both myself and Kate. We were used most cruelly. I left London in haste once the annulment was obtained.”
“You regret what you did?”
“Oh, so badly. But, I admit, I am now learning more about the arts that William practised so poorly and find them most pleasurable. I am also determined that I will decide my own future.”
“As I am, too.”
888
The next day, their third together, Jenny wrote the letter to her grandparents. Elias read it before she sealed it.
“Surely they will know that Kitty hasn’t sent her groom to deliver this note?”
“Kitty employs many servants; my grandmother won’t know one from another. Risley is like any other groom.” She wrote the address on the envelope.
He frowned, uncomfortable with the lies. Seeing his displeasure, she pouted and fluttered her eyelashes. Jenny had bewitched him with her guile, and he seemed unable to resist her. Two nights of sex and another ten to follow—he would take the risk. He snatched the letter out of her hand and called for Risley before he changed his mind.
“The fog?” she asked, pointing out of the window.
It remained a thick blanket, and only the tops of the trees poked out of it.
“He knows the paths well enough.”
Somewhere in the house, Rupert was yapping.
Elias sighed. “I’ll take the dog for a walk. You stay here.”
He made a few circuits of the house and gardens, keeping the spaniel on a tight leash. The dog sniffed everything and was particularly fascinated by the glass houses and the multitude of plants lined up in pots along the trestles. The gardener somehow kept them alive throughout the winter.
One day, Oswald would return. He hoped it would be sometime in the future. He was warming to the eccentric house and preferred it to the barracks. Thankfully, the lack of regimental orders meant he need only pay scant attention to the reports the quartermaster and sergeant sent him from time to time. His army life was barren, unlike his love life.
If he made her pregnant, would he marry her? Honour and duty said yes. His parents had been l
oving and had raised him and his siblings with kindness. He really wanted to show the same love to his own children. Naughty Jenny with her generous heart had to be the right one for him, and he believed the twelve nights would help him decide one way or the other if he loved her.
Returning indoors, he was greeted by Jenny. She had changed into one of the frocks she had found in the wardrobe. It was behind the latest fashions but in good condition and fitted her perfectly.
