Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Joseph, we need to run! They heard me!" Lydia kept her voice down and scrambled to her feet. She turned to go back the way they'd come but Joseph pulled her into his chest instead.

As she had done earlier to him, he pressed his face against Lydia's and whispered into her ear. "No, they haven't heard us yet. But we have to stop them. That's my brother's wife!"

Lydia pulled away from his embrace. "Please don't! I cannot have my brother knowing I saw what I saw! Please, Joseph. If we confront them tonight, they will have to face the kind of consequences that will ruin us all. What they're doing isn't so different than what transpired between the two of us, you know."

Joseph scoffed and balled his hands into fists. "Did you not hear me the first time? That is Oliver's wife. The situations are very different. Though you and I aren't married yet, we're also not married to other people! Your brother's behavior is inexcusable and it is my duty to protect my family, including the woman who's betraying my brother as we speak. So you may run away, but I cannot. I'm going in there to put a stop to it."

He hesitated only a few seconds before he stomped past Lydia, tripped over the leg she suddenly outstretched in front of him, and tumbled hard to the ground.

It was a good thing his costume robe was long or his appendage would have been quickly exposed from his fall. Joseph's anger reached the boiling point, but before he could get back on his feet and confront her, Lydia lifted her head toward the heavens and called out like a black bird in distress.

"Ca-CAW! Ca-CAW!"

Joseph stared in disbelief as she crowed again and again, then leaned down over him and whispered, "I protect my family, too."

Lydia leaped over Joseph's body and ran away from the stables as quickly as her strong legs could carry her, leaving him on his back in the dirt.

Joseph was so shocked by her behavior that he stayed still for several more minutes, suddenly unsure of what to do. By the time he was finally back on his feet, he could hear the sounds of Sophia and William scurrying away in opposite directions through the dark.

***

Nearly a week went by before Lydia agreed to talk privately with Joseph again. He couldn't believe she had crossed him like she did at the stables, then hid from him like a naughty child.

Joseph was even more shocked that he somehow managed to keep William and Sophia's secret against his better judgment. But he wouldn't keep it for long. And Lydia's avoidance was more than he could bear.

He'd first tried to corner her in the ballroom the next day, but his mother had walked in shortly after he'd found Lydia standing alone among sorted piles of floral print fabrics, pristine white candles, and freshly painted flower pots ready for planting.

"Lydia, I have our flower list! Oh, hello, Joseph darling. You know better than to be alone in a room with your fiancée. Run along, my dear. We have a ball to plan!"

Lydia had pulled her eyes away from Joseph and studied her hands as he'd sighed.

"Shall we see each other at tea this afternoon, Lady Lydia? I do love your company and cannot imagine going a day without it." Joseph had barely hidden the sarcasm in his voice, but his mother hadn't seemed to detect the bite in his words.

"Aww, isn't that romantic? You are a lucky young woman, Lydia, to have a gentleman such as my son so smitten with you. But I'm afraid I will need your attention all afternoon. We will have tea together and continue our planning. Joseph, please walk our roads again with your father and brothers. I'd like to know how the road repair is going in order to plan the timing of my flower ball." Lady Winstone offered her hand to her son and waited.

"Yes, Mama." Joseph kissed the back of his mother's soft hand that smelled of lavender soap, then turned to Lydia, who was still avoiding his eyes. "Good day, Lady Lydia. I hope we can speak again soon. Very soon."

The following day, he'd elicited Bridget's help in getting Lydia's attention, but the maid had returned with very little in the way of a reply from his betrothed.

"She said she's pondering the predicament, my lord, and to give her some time." Bridget hunched her shoulders and fidgeted with her apron until Joseph excused her with a grunt that sounded closer to a growl.

Pondering the predicament? What is there to ponder exactly? Is she contemplating William and Sophia's demise or is she reconsidering her arrangement with me?

Every day, he watched Lydia stay glued to his mother's side and avoid him. And every day, he tried to ignore his nervous gut by joining the other men stranded at Winstone House to inspect the slow-but-steady rebuild process, enjoy many games of cards, and share a successful hunt that brought more meat stores for their dwindling supply.

William and Sophia had both been conveniently absent from every group meal service and outing since the night of the orangery dinner. Joseph wondered if Lydia had already told her brother about their discovery and advised him to hide away in his quarters until further notice.

But there was no way of knowing anything his little nymph thought or said, apart from the occasional comment about floral arrangements he'd heard her give his mother in passing. And though Joseph had every right and inclination to take charge of the situation, he couldn't bring himself to find and confront the people taking advantage of his good graces.

Truth be told, he was worried about what would happen once William and Sophia were forced to answer for their actions. It also weighed heavily on him what it might do to his chances with Lydia if he made the first move to expose the affair.

Four days, then five passed while Joseph avoided Oliver, stewed about Lydia, and secretly hoped William Carter would dare to cross his path. However, Miss Underwood was very visible and kept showing up around corners, behind pillars, and often just a few paces behind Lydia and Lady Winstone as they walked through the hallways chatting about ballgowns.

As the week passed, Wilhelmina seemed to notice the rift between Joseph and Lydia, which turned her attention even stronger toward him.

And with Lydia ignoring him at every turn, Joseph found himself noticing more of Miss Underwood's attractive features and her seemingly endless selection of black and red dresses with ever-increasing views of her creamy cleavage.

Alluring or not, though, he still felt his skin crawl when Miss Underwood was near.

"You're looking well, my lord. Too bad I'm the only one who's noticed," Wilhelmina said to Joseph one afternoon on the terrace as he sat alone with a cup of tea watching Lydia and his mother picking flowers in the gardens along with several maids at their disposal.

"Spare me the insincere compliments, Miss Underwood. I wish to avoid your evil musings today and every day beyond it." Joseph slurped loudly from his teacup and glared at his least favorite of the women making his life difficult.

Wilhelmina spun her black parasol above her pretty head and flashed her prominent canines inside her wide smile. "As you wish, Lord Winstone. But don't judge an evil woman until you've learned of her treasures. I am certain your treasures are worth every evil step I take to make them mine."

Joseph choked on his tea as Miss Underwood blew him a covert kiss and walked away.

After taking a breath and dabbing the tea stains on his vest with his napkin, Joseph looked up and locked eyes with Lydia from where she stood across the garden, knee-deep in colorful blooms.

He raised an eyebrow at her as if to say, "Well, come talk to me, then, if you don't want Wilhelmina breathing down my neck!" But Lydia just stood there with her mouth tightly shut until his mother's voice a few paces behind her pulled her gaze away again.

***

On the morning of the sixth day, Winstone House was aflutter with gossip and excitement as plates of freshly baked apricot scones were passed around the long breakfast tables in the dining hall. Not only was it the day of Countess Winstone's flower ball, but word spread quickly among the guests that the repaired bridge would be passable in just a few more days.

It was also the first time Sophia came out of hiding and joined her family for another meal. She sat next to Maria and said very little, though she didn't avoid eye contact with Joseph. When they shared a glance, Sophia smiled as if she had no idea that Joseph knew she'd strayed from her marriage with his fiancée's brother.

Maybe she didn't know what Joseph knew, but how was he to conduct himself with his sister-in-law in any way without learning what Lydia might have revealed?

I will force that nymph to talk to me today or she can sleep in the stables herself!

Joseph made his way to the library after breakfast, hoping to find Lydia nestled there with a book. But the only person browsing the shelves was Lord Triton, who was also the last person he'd seen in this room back on the day of the Athena-themed dinner.

"Lord Winstone, we meet again!" Lord Triton grinned and shook his hand. Always the proper gentleman, Triton was dressed in full vest and jacket while Joseph was rolling up his shirt sleeves in the warm room and wished he could take a long, refreshing dip in any spring anywhere.

"Yes, Lord Triton, it seems to be so. We are fellow reading enthusiasts, are we not?" Joseph scanned the room for other guests—one in particular—but he and Lord Triton were alone.

"We are indeed, my lord. Though my tastes run far more practical and political than most, I do enjoy an intriguing story now and then. How about you, Winstone?"

Joseph smiled at Lord Triton as he wished the man would just pick a book and leave already. He had his sights set on finding far feistier company, like a little nymph he'd love to throw over his knee to paddle her bare bottom with his bare hand.

Then spread her supple thighs and dine on her juicy nether lips until she begs for more.

"Winstone? Are you quite well? You've gone somewhere far away again."

Joseph looked up from the lounge chair he'd been staring blankly at to see Lord Triton gazing at him with a furrowed brow.

"Yes, Triton, I am perfectly well. In fact, would you care to join me for some cold lemonade on the balcony? I am tired from aimlessly searching for my fiancée in this endless house. And the heat in this room is stifling. I'd offer you something stronger, but since it's only half-ten in the morning, I think the lemonade is a better choice."

He winked and rang the bell for a footman before leading Lord Triton out to the balcony chairs.

Though he'd rather find Lydia than listen to Triton drone on about his mundane interests, Joseph felt the heaviness of the past week's happenings sink into his bones. He was losing so much sleep from worry, and from wrestling with strong bouts of anger toward William, Sophia, Miss Underwood, Lydia, and maybe even himself.

"Is that girl of yours hiding from you, Winstone? That takes me back. I can understand the challenges of romance from my own experiences. My wife was an unruly woman, just like Lady Lydia, until I set her straight, God rest her soul. Until she died in childbirth, we were happy as can be. As long as she behaved like a proper lady, which I will admit took some time and plenty of discipline with a leather strap!" Lord Triton chuckled from his chair on the balcony across from Joseph, where they took in the sunny view of the landscape in front of Winstone House.

Joseph stared at Lord Triton with shock for a few seconds, then stood from his chair and stared down at his guest. A vein in his forehead throbbed as he tried to manage his contempt. "Are you quite serious, Triton? Do you mean to say that you beat your wife like a helpless animal simply because she had a fiery spirit like my Lydia?"

Lord Triton stood up quickly with widened eyes. He was clearly shocked by the younger man's disrespect. "I did not say I beat my wife. I merely did what a gentleman has to do to keep his family in line."

Joseph rolled his eyes. "That is hardly the behavior of a gentleman, sir. Any man who is violent with his family doesn't deserve to have one."

Lord Triton puffed out his chest as if to make himself seem more of an authority than his host. "What passed between my wife and I was right and lawful in society's eyes, Winstone, so I suggest you keep your opinions cordial or entirely to yourself. The fact that you plan to yoke yourself to that Briarwood chit is your own cross to bear, but you might want to have a sturdy strap ready. She'll need her first lashing on your wedding night, to be sure. A woman like that needs to be trained from the moment she puts on your ring."

The two men glared at each other for a few intense seconds, but only because Joseph was deciding which method to use to take the other man down.

Lord Triton didn't move a muscle until Joseph's fist was close to making contact with his jaw. But he ducked just in time as Joseph's hard swing met thin air, fiercely tipped his balance, and found him stumbling over the balcony yet again to land on his back in the boxwoods below.

"Maybe it's you who needs more discipline, my lord. And don't you ever speak to me with such disrespect again," Lord Triton practically snarled those words with his reddened face peeking over the balcony railing, then disappeared from Joseph's view.

A much prettier voice called out to him and made him sigh with relief.

"My lord! Are you hurt! Bridget, please bring help!"

Joseph groaned as Lydia's worried face appeared above his own.

"Joseph, please talk to me!"

She looked so pretty with the sunlight glowing behind her angelic-looking head. Joseph reached his hand up to stroke her cheek as the branches of the shrub beneath him dug into his spine. "You're the one who isn't talking, sweet nymph. It appears I had to wound myself in order to earn your attention again."

Lydia giggled softly and quickly pressed her lips against Joseph's before Bridget and two large footmen drew near. "Perhaps a man who would throw himself off the balcony to turn my head deserves a second chance. But I fear you'll be a terrible companion for the ball tonight with all the limping and whimpering you will no doubt do."

Joseph began to protest but was interrupted by help arriving at his side.

"My lord, we came as fast as we could! The footmen will carry you inside and assess your wounds." Bridget Kelly joined Lydia in leaning over Joseph's splayed body on the row of boxwoods and bit her lip. "Oh dear, that must be so painful! You look like a broken doll from my childhood!"

Joseph's eyes flew wide open as Lydia pressed a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"I am quite well, Miss Kelly, and not broken like a doll. Gents, help me stand and I should be fine to walk on my own." Joseph tried not to groan with pain again as the footmen hauled him out of the bushes and propped him up against a pillar.

"What happened, my lord, to find you in the boxwoods again? At least this time it wasn't my fault." Lydia smiled but her eyes were wide with worry.

"Oh, you might be surprised, Lady Lydia. You weren't present but it was very much your fault. I was attempting to defend your honor." He dismissed the footmen and brushed the debris from his clothes. "By the way, that's the second time in a week that I've landed on my back because of you. I think that's payment enough for whatever you've been punishing me for, is it not?"

Lydia leveled her bright green eyes at Joseph and sighed. "Perhaps we should talk. Bridget, I will see you in a few hours to prepare for the ball. Until then, I'll make sure the viscount is safe from all slippery balconies."

Bridget giggled, then curtsied and followed the footmen back into the house.

"Do you need medical assistance, my lord?" Lydia stepped closer but didn't dare touch him in front of so many house windows and the occasional person walking the grounds.

"I need to be somewhere alone with you." Joseph shaded his eyes from the midday sun with his hand and let his gaze roam Lydia's body.

She and her family had lucked into much finer clothing this past week, no doubt because his fiancée had won his mother's favor. The peach dress she had on today looked soft and easy to remove should a hungry viscount wish to savor her every hidden curve.

"I'm not going to change my mind about protecting my brother. So don't ask me to." Lydia crossed her arms and frowned.

Joseph pulled his aching body away from the pillar and flinched when a wave of pain slid down his spine. "There's a small lounge on the second floor where I am going to go rest. It's the fifth door from the top of the stairs on the right, the one painted green. If you want to talk, meet me there in an hour."

As he began hobbling toward the front door, Lydia followed behind him.

"But what if I can't get away? What if the countess needs me for final preparations for the ball?"

Joseph didn't look back at the young woman at his heels who had ignored him all week long. "Follow your heart, little nymph. And I will follow mine."

Lydia bolted in front of him and stopped so that their chests bumped into each other. "What does that mean? A woman can have more interests and desires than just those that involve the pleasures of private… collaborations. I can plan a ball or walk the fields or help a farmer's family survive and still be a passionate woman, can I not?"

Joseph leaned to one side to ease a stiff leg as he felt his shirt sticking to what was probably blood on his back. Yet, despite his new aches and pains, he was still mesmerized by the green-eyed nymph spouting gibberish that he didn't understand.

"Lady Lydia, I have no idea what you're talking about, but I would be more than happy to sit still and listen if you join me in the upstairs lounge. Either meet me there or don't, but I need to get out of this sun and tend my wounds. Yes, be passionate. Have interests. But don't expect me to understand them all before I've had a bath and a glass of port the size of England."

Lydia's eyes shifted from dark emerald to kelly green as her mood instantly brightened. "Of course, my lord. Please take good care of yourself. I will try to be there."

She turned and walked quickly toward the house entrance as Joseph leaned over and rested his hands on his knees. He suddenly felt years older and completely confused about the direction of his future.

As he collected himself and walked haltingly back into the house, he wondered if he had been too hasty in deciding that he and Lydia were meant to be together. When she turned away from him just as he was falling so hard and so fast for her, her rejection found him questioning his instincts.

Maybe she would never feel for him the way he felt for her. And maybe he was a fool for thinking that finally there was a woman who made marriage a worthwhile endeavor.

Once upstairs again, Joseph greatly appreciated Benchley's help in bathing and dressing his new scrapes, some of which required extra salve and swallows of port. Then he dressed in a fresh tunic and dismissed his valet to rest with a blanket on the comfortable settee in his private lounge.

"Your trousers, my lord?" Benchley held up a pair of clean breeches, but Joseph waved him off and yawned.

"Throw them over the chair and let me sleep a while. I'll ring you when I'm ready to get dressed for the ball."

Benchley laid the pants across a wingback chair covered in fabric with dark green striped silk, then bowed as Joseph's eyes fluttered closed.

"As you wish, my lord. Please do not bleed on that settee. The countess would make me reupholster it myself."

Joseph chuckled sleepily as Benchley extinguished the candles and exited the room.

He drifted quickly into fitful dreams of Lydia running away from him, then falling into a mineral spring and disappearing into its warm depths. He tried to save her, to pull her close and keep her from leaving him forever, but she was too hard to catch. She wanted her freedom so strongly that she was willing to choose death over a life by his side.

Joseph woke some time later with a start, disoriented and rattled from the dreams. He tossed his blanket aside and stared at the ceiling with worried eyes until he drifted in and out of consciousness again.

"My lord, are you moaning in pain? Let me help you ease it now."

Her feminine whisper so close to his ear slowly pulled Joseph back from more troubling dreams into a vision of Lydia's long glossy hair and ruby red lips getting closer and closer.

Wait… Lydia doesn't have straight hair…

Joseph's eyes flew open and he pushed up against the chest of the woman standing over him out of sheer fight or flight instincts. When his vision completely cleared, he realized he had just shoved Wilhelmina Underwood and made her tumble backward onto the floor.

"Miss Underwood! What the hell are you doing?" Joseph leaped from the settee and scurried to locate his blanket and wrap it around his waist. "Now you have gone too far, evil woman. You will leave this room at once!"

Wilhelmina pulled herself into a seated position on the floor, combed her fingers through her long, shining hair, and laughed. "Or you'll do what, my lord? Call for rescue? Or will you throw me over your shoulder and carry me into the corridor looking like that?" She pointed at the blanket covering his upper legs and laughed again. "You and I both know there's only one way to leave this room now. And that's as my husband-to-be."

Joseph glared at Wilhelmina as if daggers were about to fly from his eyes and pierce her heart. It was then that he noticed what she was wearing. Or what she wasn't wearing, since she had disrobed down to a pair of lacy pantaloons and a revealing corset with no shift underneath.

"Get dressed. You're making a fool of yourself and a fool of me." He pointed at her pile of clothing by the door and turned to face the wall behind him to give her some privacy to clothe herself again. "Though why you want to marry me is very puzzling, Wilhelmina. You're a wealthy, independent woman. You don't need my family's fortune when you have a healthy one of your own."

He heard her rustling about behind him and wished he'd grabbed his trousers instead of the blanket. If he were dressed, he could storm out of the room and lock her inside until he knew how better to handle their situation.

"It's not money I'm after, my lord. It's the Winstone title I crave and deserve. I certainly deserve it more than Lydia Carter, for God's sake. She inherited her status, but I am a woman without noble blood and I aim to earn some of my own. Even if I have to drain every ounce from your body to get it."

Joseph swallowed hard and felt more rage pressing up from his chest. "There is nothing you could do to earn a Winstone title. I will make sure of that myself. Are you properly dressed now, Miss Underwood?"

Wilhelmina giggled behind Joseph's back. "I am almost ready, my lord. Just one more adjustment to make."

He sighed, feeling thankful that she was being cooperative, then felt the blanket he was loosely holding together around his waist suddenly yanked away from his body.

Joseph cursed and grabbed at his tunic, which thankfully still covered him down to mid-thigh. He angrily turned around to see Wilhelmina wrapped in the blanket but obviously naked underneath it from the sight of the extra clothes on the floor and her bare breasts barely covered by the cloth.

"You might as well give me the ring now, Lord Winstone. If you don't, I will scream for help and let everyone know how you seduced me. How you begged me to lie with you and show you what it feels like to be with a real woman instead of a dirty little nymph."

Wilhelmina's lips spread open into a wide grin, showing off her canine teeth as if she meant to truly take a bite out of him this time.

As Joseph opened his mouth to tell her she'd never measure up to his cherished little nymph, the nymph herself burst through the door and slammed it shut behind her.

"I have had enough! Back away from my fiancé or suffer the brunt of a dirty nymph's revenge, Wilhelmina! The only noble blood you will ever earn is the blood from my knuckles as they make your pretty mouth's acquaintance!"

Joseph and Wilhelmina both stared at Lydia with shocked eyes and mouths agape. Neither one of them said anything as Lydia scooped Miss Underwood's clothes into her arms and held them against her chest.

"Joseph, put on your breeches and leave us. I will see you at the ball, which begins shortly so please make haste."

"Lydia, I… I can explain all of this. Please know that nothing happened…" Joseph stammered, feeling helpless and exposed.

"I know, my lord. I heard everything through the door. It's alright. Please leave us now. Miss Underwood and I need to have a private chat." Lydia narrowed her eyes at Wilhelmina as the woman in her sights smirked in response.

"I'm not frightened of you, Lydia. I can still scream and end this whole thing now." Wilhelmina tightened the blanket around her chest, keeping her eyes locked on Lydia's.

Joseph turned toward the wall and pulled his trousers up his legs as quickly as possible, which wasn't all that quickly due to his many aches and pains. He didn't know whether to pull Lydia into his arms or marry her on the spot, but his certainty in his decision to marry her had returned in full force. His nymph was a true goddess and a powerful woman he could not let go of if he tried.

"Oh, you won't scream, Miss Underwood. In fact, all of your wicked shenanigans shall now cease. Because we have something you don't. We have another witness who knows the truth."

Lydia smiled, shoved Wilhelmina's clothes into her arms, then turned toward the side door of the lounge and called out their witness's name.

"Benchley, could you come in here, please?"

The side door swung open and Joseph's valet peeked his head inside. Benchley uttered a few tsks and looked Wilhelmina up and down with a frown. "Please do get dressed, Miss Underwood. The countess will have my head if we mercilessly shove you into the hallway looking like that."