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Chapter Forty-One
Nicholas woke before Jenny and he gazed down at her sleeping form with a full heart and a smile on his face.
They had spent the entire night in each other's arms, splitting their time between talking, making love, and sleeping. He was honestly surprised at how energized he was despite getting less than three hours of sleep.
He contemplated waking Jenny up to love her again but took pity on her. Smiling to himself, lowered his head back onto the pillow. Then frantic knocking came, wrenching the peace out of him once more.
“Nicholas! Open this door now!” It was Persephone. Now, what did she want?
"Nicholas!" She called again. "Open this door! You are soiling the title’s good name and you will answer for it.”
Jenny woke, her sleepy eyes widening at the sound of the dowager’s voice. "Bloody hell, woman!" Nicholas cursed, scrambling to wear his clothes. He helped his wife fasten her clothes, too, before yanking the door open.
"What the devil are you doing here?" he demanded.
She shoved a paper into his hands before walking past him into the study. "Explain yourself!" She said as he scanned the gossip sheet.
There was a section in it about his marriage to a certainMiss W, accusing him of bigamy. It appeared Lady Digby had informed the gossip sheets as she had threatened but made sure to protect her daughter's identity.
"What do you have to say for yourself for tarnishing generations of Seaton's perfect image?" Persephone thumped her cane against the floor, her mouth turned down with disgust. Jenny came to stand beside him and took the paper. She blanched as she read the contents but she did not say anything.
“Grandmother,” he began but was interrupted by Bentley.
“What is it?” he snapped.
“Lord—”
"Nicholas Brighton!" An enraged Lord Hanover stormed into the study, waving a gossip sheet identical to the one Persephone had brought in his face. "For your sake, boy, you better tell me that this is just a baseless rumor." That man had dropped all courtesy and Nicholas felt like a boy again.
This is just the breakfast I need,he thought to himself.An angry grandmother with a side of fuming father-in-law.
"Papa," Jenny spoke, going to her father and collecting the paper from him. "Let us all be calm and handle this in a civilized manner."
"You know about this?" Adolf asked her, looking horrified.
"Yes, Papa, I know everything," she replied ruefully. "Give Nicholas the chance to explain."
Nicholas gave his wife a grateful look before proceeding to explain everything to them. And he would not rest until he found a clean way out of this mire. A way that would ensure he kept Jenny by his side. Especially now that their marriage had been made real. A life without her would simply be no life at all. He could not imagine a more damning fate.
“Do what you must to clean this, Nicholas,” Persephone said, “or I will. You never like it when I take charge of matters and you won’t like this one, too, I am sure.”
Lord Hanover was not so easily placated, however. He was solemn when he said, “You have risked my daughter’s reputation and we are uncertain whether your marriage to her holds true before the law. If I had known—”
“It’s done, Papa,” Jenny said gently, touching his arm. “We cannot change the past but look at him,” she motioned toward Nicholas, “he is endeavoring to right it all. Let us have a little more faith in him.”
That appeared to convince Adolf to trust him and he nodded. “But know that Iwilldemand satisfaction if my daughter’s reputation is ruined.”
* * *
That afternoon, Nicholas sat brooding in his study. He had no regrets concerning the night he had spent with Jenny. Hell, it was the best night of his life! But he could not help worrying about the future should he be unable to annul his marriage to Vanessa.
An unwanted knock came for the second time that day and Nicholas thought about how the sound was quickly becoming a harbinger of grave news to him. He called out and Bentley entered, a grim expression on his face. He barely said a word before Ernest stormed in. With a nod, Nicholas dismissed Bentley and rose to his full height to take another indignant relative’s confrontation.
"You are your grandmother's true grandchild," Ernest barked, throwing that dratted gossip sheet that everyone seemed to be walking about with onto the desk. "I thought you said you were taking care of the matter, Your Grace.”
Ernestneveraddressed him as Your Grace. For him to do so now showed how angry he must be. "Not you, too, Ernest." Nicholas heaved a weary sigh.
"You should thank God that Jenny is your wife and the victim here, Nicholas. For her sake andonlyfor her sake, I pulled a few strings to contain the circulation of the paper. Still, the damagehasbeen dealt."
