Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Joseph George Jameson Penton, come with me at once!"

The Viscount Winstone was helping his father bid farewell to some of the guests as a light rain began to fall over the nighttime landscape outside their home. When his mother angrily whispered his full name in his ear, he had no idea what to expect after following her through the house to the second floor, and into his own bedchamber.

His valet, Benchley, stood in front of Joseph's bed looking somber, as though he wished he could be anywhere else but here.

"Tell him what you found, Benchley! Tell him!" Countess Winstone curled her right hand into a fist and bit her knuckle as she paced beside the men.

"My lord, I was sorting your laundered clothing this evening and apparently did not realize that there were other belongings in the basket. I merely inquired of the maid why she returned these… items with your lordship's clothes, and the news of it spread, I'm afraid, through the Winstone House rumor mill. And here we are."

"Benchley, what are you talking about?" Joseph was becoming annoyed by the suspense of whatever Benchley and his mother were up to. But when his valet stepped away from the bed, Joseph could see the problem displayed on his dark navy quilt.

A woman's brown cloak and matching bonnet rested next to a pair of women's long white stockings with silk ribbon garters.

"Oh, that. Did you not find the boots? They could use a good cleaning, too." Joseph laughed but his companions did not.

"I don't know if I have ever endured such a perilous night! Your brother makes a drunken scene at my grand party, while our entire staff gossips throughout the house about your secret possession of women's clothing? Joseph, what is the meaning of this?"

"Mama, you are overreacting to a perfectly innocent discovery. Those clothes were left by someone, presumably from our staff, in the garden. When I saw them earlier today, I bundled them up and brought them inside with my own muddied cloak and forgot to mention it. My apologies, Benchley, for the disturbance and misunderstanding." Joseph reached out his hand to shake Benchley's, which his valet accepted. "Now let's get back to that grand party of yours, Mama. All is as it should be."

"No, Joseph, all is not. Why would my son, the Right Honorable Viscount of Winstone, choose to bring an unknown woman's clothing into his bedchamber instead of leaving them be and asking a footman to investigate? I am no fool. I know what young men do when they travel the world far from home. But I cannot support such scandalous conquests under my own roof, do I make myself clear?"

Lady Winstone stood without reservation between Joseph and his valet to scold her grown son for being a rake. And apparently a stocking thief, too.

"Perfectly, Mama. No such incidences will ever happen again. Under your roof." Joseph winked at his mother, but she was not to be toyed with today.

"I have had enough of your wit and evasion, Joseph. The night is still young and you will find a suitable partner to court and marry before the end of it. You need a proper wife to help you become a more serious and responsible man. I should have seen this coming when you were a child and I first noticed how much you resembled your father. He benefited from a strong partner, and so shall you."

With that, Lady Winstone turned on her heel and marched out of Joseph's bed chamber as her son and Benchley watched her go.

"I am truly sorry for the inconvenience, Benchley. Thank you for your discretion, despite the rumor mill."

"Always, my lord." Benchley bowed and made a hasty exit.

Joseph removed his right glove and ran his bare hand down the length of Lydia's stockings, wondering how her bare legs would feel cinched around his waist.

***

Joseph rejoined his father in the entryway of their home as many of the guests were saying their goodbyes. Music still rang through the house as the ball continued with a smaller amount of dancers enjoying the merry eve.

He tried not to think about the lie he'd just told his mother, about how he found a woman's clothing abandoned in their garden. Not that telling the truth would have been the right decision, either, but it still felt a bit disconcerting that an untruth had rolled so easily off his tongue.

But he was simply sparing his mother more peril on the one night a year when she worked so hard to shine.

He'd also spared her the news that while Oliver was sleeping off the liquor his wife was crying in the arms of another man. Whether that was merely coincidental or not was yet to be seen, but Joseph vowed to keep an eye on William Carter for the foreseeable future.

As for Carter's sister, Joseph tried to put her out of his mind and failed. One day, just one day of knowing that vexing woman was already driving him mad. He had to admit that their instant level of intimacy caused by their meeting at the spring also made her the most interesting woman he'd ever come across.

But, as mother said, the night is young. And there are still many young ladies left at the ball for dancing the night away. I cannot allow Lydia Carter to dominate my every thought, no matter how much I'd like to lift her skirts, bend her over my knee, and swat her perfect bottom for being such a naughty nymph.

"What news, brother?" Henry startled Joseph when he smacked his back. "Have any special ladies caught your eye this evening? It's a sad day for you and all other men that my lovely Maria is already taken. She's beyond compare, if I do say so myself."

Joseph smiled at his youngest brother and nodded in agreement. "You chose well, brother. Of that there is no doubt. So when are you and Oliver going to make me an uncle? You'd think one of you would have grown an heir by now."

Henry's cheeks reddened and his eyes lit up. "Don't tell Mama because we plan to surprise her soon, but Maria is very recently with child. You will be an uncle before you know it."

"Henry, are you joking? Come here, you virile whipper-snapper! That is the happiest of news!" Joseph pulled Henry in for a hug and watched his mother enter the room with her party face back on.

Henry and Joseph's father came through the main entrance from outside and shook the rain from his coat just as their mother approached.

"My lord, please do not wiggle like a wet dog in our home!" Lady Winstone scolded her husband, then moved on to invite some of her remaining guests to join her intimate dinner party gathering soon. When he saw her extend a dinner invitation to spoiled and cunning Wilhelmina Underwood, Joseph frowned.

"What is Mama up to? Could she really be bringing her marriage market to the dinner table?"

Henry grinned. "You cannot hide, brother. If you don't choose a wife on the dance floor, she'll marry you off while the plates are passed."

"I think my appetite just disappeared." Joseph thought again of Lady Lydia, knowing that she and her family would be dining with them soon, as well.

Now there's a dish I'd like to savor. Despite her completely untamable character, I'll bet she's as juicy at her pinnacle as they come.

"Thinking of someone special, Joseph? I'll bet it's that fiery Carter girl, isn't it? Are you sure you can handle a gorgeous chit like that one?" Henry nudged his brother, then took off running in fits of laughter when Joseph tried to tackle him.

"Straighten up, boys, or your mother will hang us all from the rafters in the barn before the night is through. Where is Oliver?" Lord Winstone had returned once again from helping guests to their carriages. He was nearly soaked to the bone.

"Oliver is… indisposed. And Mama will find your state of dress unacceptable, so let us help. You go change into dry clothes and I'll see to the guests until dinner."

Joseph relished the distraction from the days events, but he wasn't prepared for how much worse the rainfall had become. Footmen did their best to help keep guests' boots and skirts from sinking into the mud, but the driveway out front was a disaster by the time the last guests left before dinner had departed.

News of the worsening weather was spreading through the building, but Joseph knew that heading home before the Countess of Winstone's special dinner wasn't something anyone wanted to do.

Unless you're the sour-faced nymph with plump, pouty lips heading toward me right now.

"Have you seen my brother, my lord? We must make our leave but my family members seem to have scattered on the wind." Lydia looked tired and worried about the skies as she watched through the front doors as the Penton footmen pulled them closed.

Joseph was also growing weary and didn't have the energy to pretend that he wanted to speak to Lydia right now. Bed her? Yes. Listen to her self-righteous ranting? I'd rather clean my ears with an ice pick!

"Have you checked the dining hall, Lady Lydia? We are gathering there for dinner shortly. Run along now. You'll want to keep your brother from hugging the married ladies and your sisters from giggling over every little thing."

For a man who didn't want to hear more of Lydia Carter's tirades, Joseph realized at that moment that he couldn't seem to stop provoking them. She was so easy to rile and her fiery rages were sexy as hell.

But this time, Lydia merely blinked for a few seconds, then turned and marched off toward the dining hall near the grand ballroom. Standing in the wake of her silence, Joseph wondered if he had gone too far.

The truth was he didn't want her to leave the party yet. There was a very good chance that once she walked out his front door tonight, he might never get a chance to spar with her again.

***

As luck would have it, Joseph was seated across from Lydia Carter at dinner, and next to Wilhelmina Underwood. He was surrounded by eligible ladies, no doubt his mother's doing. But the only one who didn't fawn over him was the one he craved the most.

Lydia was deep in conversation with the man to her left, Lord Triton, and both parties seemed to be getting more agitated by the minute. So much so that Joseph felt he might have to step in soon to keep her from throwing a punch at one of the most esteemed members of Parliament and a great friend to the Penton family.

"Lord Triton, there would be far fewer grand meals such as this one without the hard work of our tenant farmers. High society depends on their success and their success depends on our support, does it not?" Lydia spoke in a fairly hushed and steady tone, but it was clear her anger was festering under each word.

Lord Triton cleared his throat and glanced at Joseph with eyes full of annoyance before answering. "Lady Lydia, I believe your lovely head has been filled with the exaggerations of some whining members of the working class. Everyone is responsible for their own success. And those who do not succeed need only look in the mirror for the source of their demise."

Lydia's eyes widened with shock as she stabbed a piece of carrot with her fork. "I see. So, making the rich even richer is the bottom line? And the people who break their backs to make our opulence possible should quit complaining about their pathetic lives full of hunger, sickness, and strife?"

Lord Triton raised his glass and pretended to clink it with an imaginary goblet over Lydia's plate. "I'll drink to that!"

Joseph studied Lydia's reaction for any signs of pending violence, but she simply tossed her napkin on her plate and drained her own glass of port. She was clearly seething, but for the second time in a couple of hours, she managed to hold her tongue.

It surprised Joseph how much he preferred her rants to her resolve. He didn't want to think about how much Lydia and his mother were alike in this manner. Perhaps being raised by a headstrong woman made him drawn to the one holding back a tantrum right in front of him.

Wanting to bring a sense of merriment back to their end of the table, Joseph was about to suggest a change of topic when he felt a woman's hand trail down the length of his right leg. He nearly jumped out of his seat, but a muffled giggle from Wilhelmina Underwood cleared up any questions about who had made such a bold and private gesture.

"I beg your pardon, my lord. You had such an unsettled look on your face, I thought I'd cause a more pleasing diversion. You're welcome." A bawdy grin lifted the corners of Wilhelmina's provocative mouth, her teasing tongue licking her bottom lip.

There was little time to determine how to respond to such a blatant sexual advance before a drenched footman raced into the dining hall and whispered into Joseph's father's ear.

Upon hearing the message, Lord Winstone stood up with his eyes wide with surprise. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have some distressing news. The storm has washed out the bridge between our estate and the main thoroughfare and has apparently rendered the roads beyond it unsuitable for travel. I fear you are about to become our guests for several days, if not longer, until repairs are possible once the storm subsides. But we have plenty of rooms for your comfort and are happy to have you with us! I'd like to ask the men to join me in securing your horses and carriages for the night. Lady Winstone, we'll need your expert guidance for organizing accommodations. Don't panic, everyone! We have it all in hand."

Most of the nearly thirty remaining guests sprang into action as the dining hall at Winstone House filled with anxious chatter.

Wilhelmina Underwood stood next to Joseph at the table and stroked his arm. "It looks like we'll have plenty of time now to explore our budding connection, my lord. Your mother will be pleased that we are getting on so well, will she not?"

Joseph gulped in an attempt to keep his gurgling stomach acid from rising up his throat. Though it was true that Miss Underwood was a tempting woman who would make a memorable lover, she was also the kind of chit who would stab a man in the back just for the fun of it.

Marrying Wilhelmina Underwood was out of the question and a match he had to prevent at all costs. Learning that his mother might be pushing him in Miss Underwood's direction made his gut churn even more.

As chaos ensued around them, Joseph glanced at Lydia again. She was still seated and nursing another glass of port while staring up at him.

Did she witness Wilhelmina's advance? Did it make her jealous or was she simply angry with all men now, including her unscrupulous brother?

It was then that an outrageous idea formed in Joseph's head as he returned Lydia Carter's gaze. Now that they would be stuck together for who knows how long, it might be advantageous for them both to create an alliance.

A temporary solution to her brother's momentary lapse of propriety and my need to avoid my mother's schemes.

Joseph had to act at once to put his plan into place. Soon all of the guests would be tucked away in their rooms and further communication with Lydia tonight would prove difficult. Right now was perfect timing, while everyone was running around like the world was about to end.

He excused himself from Wilhelmina's side and made haste moving to the other side of the dining table. Joseph didn't care if anyone saw him. In fact, he rather preferred that at least some people did.

When he reached Lydia, he bent over her shoulder and whispered into her ear. "What I'm about to do will go against everything you want and believe in, but I need you to trust me that this is only temporary. I am suggesting a secret pact with you to offer protection for the reputation of both of our families, and to keep my meddling mother from controlling my future. I apologize in advance, but I beg you to comply with this pact only while we're confined to these walls for the next few days."

Lydia turned around and looked at Joseph like he had grown an extra head. "My lord, what on earth are you going on about? You are making no sense!" Fortunately, she said this quietly enough so as not to attract attention just yet to their conversation. Her words were slightly slurred from the alcohol, which Joseph hoped would make her more willing to do the preposterous thing he was about to ask of her.

Joseph crouched next to Lydia's chair and smiled. "Consider it the next phase of your experiment, my lady. If you do me this favor, I'll show you every appendage I own. For science, of course."

As Lydia's eyelids fluttered with complete confusion, Joseph dropped to one knee and raised his voice.

"Lady Lydia Carter, will you marry me?"