Page 48 of Love and Other Disasters

The old lady smiled. “Thankfully, there was only his wife.”

“How do you know Laura?”

“I do not, but your brother attended a rather scandalous masquerade and engaged in a tryst with a woman who later fit the description I had been given of his estranged wife. Imagine my surprise at that discovery when all of society knows they cannot stand each other. He skulked away at dawn from the masquerade and she went her own way. I had her followed.” The older woman quirked her brow. “Should you like the date of conception and the delivery too?”

Jasper blanched but nodded and filed the information away to consider later. Nash had said not so long ago that he’d not seen his wife since she’d left him. But did Nash realize he’d lain with his own wife at that masquerade?

And what of that letter that had been left on his bed? It had been addressed to him.

If Laura had indulged in a tryst with Nash and hidden her pregnancy from him later, that would be yet another scandal to rock the marriage and the family.

Jasper wet his lips and then met the madam’s gaze. “If Sophie doesn’t know about the events that led to the fathering of this child, I don’t want you to tell her yet,” Jasper said slowly. “I will get the truth from Laura myself and then deal with Nash immediately upon his return.”

“But Sophie believes you the father of this child now,” the woman murmured. “You are innocent of any wrongdoing. She ought to know the good about you before it is too late.”

“She will know it all, when I have all the facts.”

The older woman’s smile grew wider. “I can clearly see now who the better brother is. Be gentle with our Sophie’s heart, Lord Jasper. It is easily broken by insincere men.”

“I’ll do my best,” Jasper promised and left the nursery, carrying Isabelle, his niece, but wishing that was not the case. For a few days, he’d been a man with responsibilities and they had settled easily on his shoulders. A man who Sophie had begun to admire, despite their bad start. A lover, a friend, and a partner. Could Isabelle really not be his child?

Jasper ground his teeth. If he wasn’t, Laura should have told him instead of muddying the waters with a damn unsigned note left on his bed with Isabelle.

And when Nash returned, Jasper would force Nash to acknowledge the child as his too and attempt to get him to make up with his wife. Even if she was difficult. Even if Laura ran away again. There had been times during the marriage when Nash and Laura had gotten along. Clearly they had no problems in the bedchamber.

In the mean-time, Jasper would continue playing the role of Isabelle’s papa and hide his regret that it might not be for long enough.

Chapter Fourteen

Sophie turned as a twig snapped behind her and saw Jasper emerging out of the darkness around the grove. “Is there a problem?”

“No,” he promised, coming to a stop by her side. “Were you expecting one?”

“Not from my side of the arrangement. The ladies know what they are doing.”

Jasper’s orgy had taken only a day and a night to set in motion, and all seemed to be going well so far. Tonight was the culmination of his party. His friends had not been able to believe their good fortune when Madam Clover and her ladies had suddenly appeared in their midst. They had been so enthusiastic about the prospect a night of unrestrained passion beneath the stars that Jasper had been hailed almost a hero in their eyes.

They would all be gone by morning, though. Even Madam Clover.

Sophie was keeping her distance from the festivities, but Madam Clover was reclining on a chaise lounge in the shadows, keeping a watchful eye over the event and her ladies. Madam had met and instantly brought the local whores into her troupe and treated them as if they were her very own, too. Sophie now had little to do with the event taking place.

But she was not forgotten. Jasper had shadowed Sophie closely all night so that none of his friends could approach her, mistaking her for the entertainment on offer. She was surprised with his hovering so protectively, but glad for his company. “Are you pleased?”

“How can I be anything but? I’ve made more money from this one night than I did in the whole of last year. And I owe it all to you and Madam Clover.”

“She is a marvel,” Sophie told him.

“You are, too. I am still curious how you became such good friends with prostitutes though. I would not have thought to see such a close bond existing between you all after so long apart.”

She turned her head to the side, considering how to answer that question. She owed the ladies her life, a debt she could never repay, but that was not a subject open for discussion tonight. However, it was a question that deserved acknowledgement. “I met them in London before your brother hired me.”

“Yes, you told me that.”

She smiled slightly, vaguely remembering being carried into the pleasure house by those kind women, in pain and with no hope left in her heart. If not for them, she dreaded to think what might have happened to her. “We became friends almost at once.”

“Well, that tells me nothing at all.” Lord Jasper pursed his lips. “Very well, Sophie. I won’t pester you for the truth. Keep your secrets.”

“I shall,” she promised, and although he let out a frustrated breath, he said no more to drag any particulars from her lips. She was relieved he would let the matter go so easily. She valued the women of the brothel, but her past, and what had brought her to their door, was deeply personal. “Don’t let me keep you.”