AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Richard stopped to think. Recalling the threatening note in his pocket, he shook his head. “Nay, the man who let the doxies into the house. It must be him.”
Perry tilted his head. “What do you mean? This is another prank?”
Richard scowled. “Not a prank. I believe whoever let those women in wished me ill. I received a threatening note, so it must be linked because it is too many situations converging at once to be a coincidence.”
“But who?”
“I do not know. A jilted lover? A cuckolded husband? The potential for enemies is vast, considering my prolific bedding of women the length and breadth of England. Damnit, why could I not keep my falls buttoned?”
“May I read the note?”
Richard tugged it out of his coat and threw it at Perry, who caught it deftly. He resumed pacing, thinking about how he had decided not to tell Sophia about the note yet. He must alert her to the caricature, however. She might be a laughingstock, and it was only fair to warn her to expect trouble the next time she left their home.
Perry whistled after reading the page. “What will you do?”
“I am meeting with Halmesbury this afternoon to discuss it. This is larger than my experience, and I need an outside perspective. In the meantime, I increased security for Sophia and Ethan.Damnit!The woman married me for safety, and all I have done is bring her chaos!”
His brother came over to hand the note back. “Halmesbury is a good idea because I find myself quite unprepared for this. But what can I do to help, brother?”
Perry’s face reflected genuine concern. Richard sighed in relief. His brother's recalcitrance of the past few days appeared to have passed, for there was no evidence of it now. His help in dealing with the matter would be valuable.
“Perhaps you can attend your clubs and listen for gossip. Any clues to who is tormenting me would be helpful.”
Perry nodded. “I can do that. What will you tell … your wife?”
Richard dropped his gaze. “I will need to warn her about the gossip, but I do not want to scare her about the note. I must take care of it, but she will be safe. I made sure of it.”
Sucking in a calming breath, Richard went to his desk to take up the horrible print, then left the room to find Sophia. He tried a couple of rooms before locating her in the breakfast room where she sat with a full plate, raising a strawberry to the sweet mouth he had kissed so passionately the night before. A blaze of hot desire accompanied the memory.
“Richard!” she called out in delight, dropping the strawberry.
“Good morning, Sophia. Did you sleep well?” A pretty flush covered her cheeks, and he recognized that she was thinking similar thoughts to his own, a fact that caused his loins to twinge in reactive desire.
“Yes, my lord.”
Richard grinned for a moment, suspecting he was being ‘my lorded’ because she was embarrassed and nervous.
“Can you clear the room?” He directed the command at the footmen, who quickly left and closed the door.
Sophia’s features reflected worry when he walked over to pull out the chair next to her. “Is something wrong? With Ethan?”
“Ethan is fine. I have a bit of news this morning. Bad news. I wanted to share it with you before you became aware of it … some other way.” He offered her the print he was carrying. Perplexed, she accepted it and scanned the print.
“Oh my!” She made a snorting sound and her shoulders shook. Richard’s heart sank. He was causing his bride to sob not three days in to their marriage.
Then the snort turned into … laughter? Sophia howled, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. Had she lost her mind? Had he driven her to hysteria with one too many problems? Thankfully, he had not informed her of the threatening note or—
“This is priceless!” Her exclamation marked the end of her laughter. Richard raised his eyebrows. Noting his expression, she raised her own. “Never say this concerns you?”
“Of course it does. I made you the object of gossip and—”
“Pish! Marrying you has made me interesting for a minute. But next week someone will draw yet another print of King George and that silly rumored trial of Queen Caroline. All will be forgotten of the Saunton household, and we will move on. Whatever we must contend with will be no worse than polite society’s reaction to Ethan living in our household. If I can cope with that, then I can cope with this, too … but I appreciate the warning,” she finished in a cajoling tone, as if she was comforting him.
Richard had not realized he was holding his breath. At her words, he exhaled a sigh of relief. “What did I do to deserve you?”
She coughed delicately into her hand. “Quite a few things I do not wish to mention.” Richard grinned at her reference to their fiery evening together.
Grabbing her hand, he raised it to his lips. “You are a marvelous woman! Beyond compare.”
