He had nothing to fear from his brother. Will would rather die than come between him and his new wife. He should be happy that Penny would have someone to talk to.
Then why did he feel so irritated that she was talking to him tonight? Adam had left her alone to fend for herself. And she had done it, admirably. By the end of the evening, he’d heard murmurs about what a fine hostess she had been, and the people wishing him well had sounded sincere and not sarcastic. The evening had been a success.
And now, his brother could not stop prattling on about his wife’s finer qualities, as though they were any business of his. ‘… and a lot in common with Tim as well. Perhaps when you go home, she will have opportunity to see his research, for I think she would find it fascinating. He was a dab hand at languages when you were in school, was he not?’
‘Tim.’ Oh, dear God. Not him as well.
‘Yes. They went off together, just now, while we were speaking? Probably looking for a quiet corner where they can conjugate verbs together.’ Will laughed.
‘Not if I can help it.’ And Adam left his brother to search out his wife.
Chapter Fifteen
‘Fair Penelope.’ Lord Timothy was being most effusive in his praise, and she wondered if he were the worse for drink. ‘I have sent my wife home, and she will bother you no further.’
‘You wished to speak to me?’
He caught her hand, and slipped it through the crook of his arm, then led her away from the ballroom. ‘In your sitting room, if that is all right. Somewhere we can be alone.’
‘What do you wish to say that requires privacy?’
‘Things I do not wish others to hear.’ He led her past her husband, who was deep in conversation with his brother, and hardly aware of his surroundings. ‘Perhaps I wish to be the first man of the ton to attempt a flirtation with you. I expect there shall be many, and do not wish to lose my chance, for lack of courage.’
She tried a laugh, and failed. ‘If that was meant as a joke, I fear it was not very funny. I do not wish you to flirt with me, now or ever, if that is truly your intent.’
‘A pity.’ He sighed. ‘We would likely do well together, just as our spouses suit each other. For we are studious and bookish, and not at ease in society. Just as they are mercurial and charismatic.’
‘It was true what she said, then. You know about them.’ Then Penny stopped to look around, afraid that a guest might have heard her speak.
Tim hurried down the last flight of steps and pulled her down the hall and into her own room, shutting the door behind them. ‘I am many things, Penelope, but I am neither blind, nor foolish. I was well aware of what happened. Clarissa made certain of it.’
‘It does not bother you that your wife is so flagrant in her attentions to other men?’
He sighed. ‘Many of the couples in my set have such agreements. We married for reasons other than love. She was rich, as well as beautiful. I have been able to finance my studies.’ He grimaced. ‘Although she makes me pay dearly for them.’
‘And you all look politely the other way when there is something you do not wish to see?’
‘Precisely.’
‘But if I make the slightest social faux pas?’
‘Then you will be the talk of the town. You are already notorious for aspiring to a better class than you were born to. People like Clarissa wish to see you fail, to prove that you do not belong. Then they may continue to feel superior.’
‘Timothy, this is grossly unfair.’
He nodded. ‘But do not believe what she told you. You did well tonight.’
She ignored the compliment. ‘It is not particularly moral of you all to allow such chaos and infidelity in your midst.’
‘You must have a very limited understanding of society to think so, my dear.’
‘I never claimed to have one. Not your idea of society, at least. In the circles I moved in, people did not work so at playing false. My mother loved my father, and my father loved her. They were a most happy couple, until she died. And I would swear they were faithful; even after she was gone, my father did not seek the company of women, or wish to remarry. He threw himself wholeheartedly into his work.’
Timothy laughed. ‘Perhaps that is the problem, for we have no work to throw ourselves into. Idle hands, as they say, my dear. Clarissa is proof of that, for she has never done a moment’s real labour, but is the devil’s handmaiden if there is mischief to be made.’
Penny did not wish to speak ill of the man’s wife, and attempted, ‘I am sure that she has many qualities that I will consider admirable, once I know her better.’
‘And I came here to warn you not to bother. You will never get from her other than you got tonight. Backbiting, sly innuendoes, threats and tricks. If you show weakness, she will use it against you. Once she finds a chink in your armour, she will strike there, to bring you all the pain she can. That is the only reason that she wants Adam back, now that he has finally come to his senses. It amuses her to drive a wedge between me and my oldest friend.’
Penny seized on the only hopeful note in the speech. ‘So they are no longer together?’
‘Not for some time. But she is persistent, and I feared he would weaken. When he returned from Scotland with you, I was much relieved.’
Penny shook her head. ‘It is no love match. Do not expect him to choose me, should there be a choice to be made.’
‘And yet, he says he did not marry for money, and I believe him.’
She weighed the truth, and the burden of keeping the secret from one who could help her understand. At last she said, ‘We are married because I tricked him. I needed a husband to gain control of my fortune. When I found him, he was face down in a coach yard. It appeared he had tried to throw himself beneath the carriage and make an end of it. He said something about gambling and bad debts when he was sober enough to talk. But he was far too drunk to know what was happening at the time of the actual marriage.’
‘It was not binding, if he was too drunk to agree.’
‘That was what I thought. I offered to let him go. But he felt an obligation. I needed a husband, and he needed money. And since we were already married, we struck a bargain and came back to London.’ She looked sadly at Timothy. ‘I am sorry to disappoint you, if you were expecting a grand romantic tale. But that’s the truth of it.’
‘Nonsense. He is yours if you want him, and Clarissa has no hope. I know him better than I know myself. And I have seen the way he looks at you.’
She laughed. ‘What way is that?’
‘Like a man in love. You are good for him, Penelope. No matter how things appear, you must not lose heart, for Clarissa is no threat to you.’ Tim caught her hand and held it in his.
She laughed. ‘You are mad.’
‘Adam
