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Eden was horribly embarrassed that she could not control her tears, but when she tried to assure Rebecca that she would soon recover her composure, her words were no more than a string of unintelligible sobs.
Julian had carried his doctor’s bag into the room when Raven had summoned him. After replacing the smelling salts in the black leather satchel, he withdrew another bottle. “I’m going to give her some laudanum to help her sleep. Don’t argue with me about this, Raven, or I’ll send Rebecca to fetch Eden’s father.”
Nathan was the last person Raven wanted involved and he had no choice but to give in to Julian’s demand, but he tried to appear unconcerned. “Since I’ve no objection to your giving her laudanum, there’s no need to threaten to summon Nathan.”
“Good, I was hoping you’d see things my way.” Julian waited while Rebecca brought a glass from the washstand. He poured in several ounces of the alcohol-based opium solution, and then handed it to Raven. “Make her drink it all.”
Raven took the glass of brownish-red liquid and gently coaxed Eden into swallowing it. He set the empty glass aside, then looked up at Julian. “Thank you, but I can take care of my wife now.”
“Shall I summon one of the maids to help her get ready for bed?” Rebecca asked helpfully.
The innocence of that question brought a smile to Raven’s lips. “No, thank you, I want to help her myself.”
Julian hesitated for a moment, and then spoke his mind as he usually did. “As soon as she’s asleep, come down to the study. I want to talk to you.”
Eden had already grown calmer, and Raven thought she would be all right if he left her for a few minutes while she slept. “Fine, I’ve something to say to you too.” He did not move from his bride’s side until they were again alone in the room. Then he began to remove her satin gown with the same tenderness he showed when they made love.
“I don’t want to ever see you this sad again, Eden. Not ever. I think it’s more difficult for me than it is for you.”
The laudanum had made her too drowsy to respond, but Eden watched with a sleepy gaze as Raven peeled away her clothes. He returned her gown and starched slips to the wardrobe, then folded her stockings and lingerie and draped them over the arm of a ch
air to be laundered in the morning. He brought her a nightgown, slipped it over her head, and then took her hands to pull her arms through the sleeves the way he would dress a child. He removed the pins from her hair, ran his fingers through the glossy curls, then leaned down to kiss her lips lightly.
“This isn’t the way I wanted tonight to end,” he whispered as he tucked her in but her eyes were already closed in sleep. Pleased that her expression was a relaxed one, he gave her another kiss then eased the mosquito netting down around the bed. Determined to keep his conversation brief so he could return to his bride, he hurriedly left her room.
Julian was alone in the study, and he stopped pacing as Raven came through the door. “The whole point of your trip to England was to find a suitable English wife whose bloodlines would complement the Clairbournes’. That you’ve returned instead with not only a Southern belle, but an unstable one, is as tragic as Alex’s death. I’m certain he would never have risked making the trip had he known you’d disregard his wishes so completely.”
Raven eyed the older man coldly, and clasped his hands behind his back to force away the impulse to throttle him. “I’m going to give you the same warning I gave the last man who made the mistake of insulting my wife. If you ever do it again, I’ll call you out for it. Now I want your word before I continue that you’ll not breathe a word of what I’m about to tell you to anyone, not even Rebecca.”
Despite the fire in the young man’s eyes, Julian considered Raven’s threat of a duel absurd since he would never accept such a challenge, and simply ignored it. “Doctors are trained to be discreet, Raven.”
“I’m not asking for discretion, but complete and absolute silence.”
“If Eden is ill—”
“This has nothing to do with disease.”
“All right then, you have my word that I’ll keep your confidence,” the physician offered grudgingly.
“Thank you.” In no mood to sit down, Raven walked over to the fireplace, and leaned back against the mantel. In as terse a manner as possible, he explained that Eden was not only his wife, but Alex’s widow, and pregnant with Alex’s child. “Yadira put something in Eden’s room that reminded her of Alex. There’s no way she could have known Eden would be upset by it. It was purely unintentional. Eden’s not in the least bit unstable, but she loved Alex dearly and at times her grief overwhelms her.”
“You’ve married your widowed aunt. Is that the secret I’m supposed to keep?”
“Christ, Julian, we aren’t even remotely related. It isn’t incest.”
Julian frowned as he mulled over Raven’s startling revelation. “Were you that terrified she’d give Alex a son?”
Again Raven found his temper nearly impossible to control. “Our marriage had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact I’m Alex’s heir.”
“Well, that would certainly be difficult to prove in a court of law, wouldn’t it?”
Raven had heard enough and went to the door. “I had thought that because you treated Alex for so many years that you would be the best man to deliver his child. Obviously I was mistaken. You’ve no respect for either my wife or me and I’ll not burden you with another invitation to our home. Rebecca, however, will always be welcome.”
Raven slammed the door on his way out, but Julian made no attempt to go after him. He sank down into the leather chair Alex had favored and mulled over what he had just learned. That Alex would have married when he was in such precarious health troubled the conscientious physician deeply. That Raven had married the same ravishing young woman with such shocking haste was equally disturbing.
From all he had heard, the Suttons were bright, responsible men who never behaved in such an unpredictable manner. Raven was not actually a Sutton, however, but from some other branch of Alex’s family. Perhaps a fear of death had prompted Alex to seize whatever happiness he could by marrying Eden, but what reason could Raven have possibly had for rushing to the altar other than to protect his own interests? Whatever their reasons, neither man had behaved as Julian thought a titled Englishman should. Raven had always been hot-tempered, though, and he fully expected him to apologize in the morning. As for delivering Alex’s child, Julian doubted Eden could carry the babe to term if she possessed so little control of her emotions.
He remained in the study, his expression a troubled one. He was going to miss Alex badly. It had never mattered to Alex whether or not a man held a title. As long as he was honest, Alex would call him a friend. Apparently Raven would extend his friendship only to those who promised to keep the scandalous nature of his marriage a secret. Julian could not help but think the young earl was going to find himself with very few friends.
