Chapter 19

CHAPTER

a

19

T heo sat at the dining room table in Jackson's town house. She'd scandalously spent another night in his home and she was having breakfast with his father. Jackson was upstairs, preparing to rush out to complete numerous errands.

She wasn't going anywhere, but was content to hide and let the men who'd blustered into her world—that being Jackson and Boswell Coswell—determine how to get her life back on track.

She couldn't quite grasp that she was about to be married. With very little thought, she'd decided to forge ahead. She and Jackson were so fond, and they enjoyed such a precious connection, that she was certain it would work out for the best. A female was rarely lucky enough to like her husband as much as she liked him.

When they were so besotted, why couldn't a small miracle occur? She'd fallen in love with him from the very start, and while men were slower to recognize heightened sentiment, she would cross her fingers and hope that he would gradually realize he loved her too.

Wouldn't that be something? What if he wound up loving her?

As she was pondering him, he blustered in. She studied him, absorbing the fact that she was about to be his wife. After so many years of struggle, heartache, and disappointment, perhaps the universe had figured she was due to have her pathetic circumstances altered.

His color was high, his eyes twinkling with merriment. He appeared dashing and magnificent, as if all of his dreams had come true. That's exactly how she felt. Her every dream was coming true.

He circled the table, and he walked directly over to her, dipped down, and kissed her—with his father and two footmen looking on! It was brash conduct, but she wasn't about to scold him for it.

"Good morning, my blushing bride," he said, as he scooted onto the chair next to her.

She blushed for him, right on cue. "Good morning to you too, my soon-to-be husband."

"If you're referring to me as your husband, does that mean you haven't changed your mind?"

"Not yet."

He and his father chuckled, then Jackson said, "How is your meal? Is the food edible? Are the servants tending you appropriately?"

He'd been questioning her constantly, as if he was worried she was too posh in her tastes and that he hadn't provided her with suitable conditions.

"The food is delicious and your servants are wonderful. Every detail is perfect."

"If there's an item or situation that is not to your liking, just tell me and I'll fix it."

She sighed with gladness and patted his hand. "Quit fretting, would you? You're clucking away like a mother hen. I'm fine."

"It's the only response I ever want from you." He gestured to his father. "How about Cedric? He hasn't been bothering you, has he?"

Mr. Bennett huffed with mock offense. "I've been talking her ear off and, as opposed to you, she's humored by my stories. She hasn't heard any of them before and she's too polite to ask me to be silent."

Jackson shifted his focus back to her. "If he annoys you, you don't have to encourage him. You have my permission to order him to shut up."

She smiled. "Your father and I are getting on like old chums."

Mr. Bennett smirked. "See? She's wild about me."

"He's an aging libertine," Jackson told her, "but he won't admit it, and he thinks he's twenty instead of fifty. He believes the ladies still find him irresistible."

"He is very charming," Theo said, "so I understand why he'd assume that."

"Ha!" Mr. Bennett crowed. "She's declared me to be charming. I've already won her over."

Jackson rolled his eyes, but his affection for his father was very clear. They had an interesting bond and it was so different from the one she'd had with her own father. It would be amusing and intriguing to live with them. For three decades, it had been just the two of them. Would she fit in? Was it possible?

She would make sure of it. Her arrival would bring many modifications to their relationship and she would be a third person stirred into the mix. Mentally, she vowed to always be Mr. Bennett's friend, so he'd never regret that Jackson had picked her.

"What are your plans for the day?" she asked Jackson.

"I'm meeting with Attorney Coswell, then we have a conference with a judge to have various injunctions signed. With me being an earl, Coswell will have more gravitas when he presents his arguments."

Mr. Bennett added, "It's the biggest benefit of his being an aristocrat. People bow down at his feet."

"Normally," Jackson said, "I'm irked to be treated with such deference, but in this case, I'm delighted about it. I'd like to yank Arthur's fingers out of the bank accounts as fast as I can manage it. We should have control of the company later this afternoon."

"How have you accomplished so much so quickly?" Theo teasingly asked. "Are you a magician?"

"Oh, yes, definitely," he sarcastically concurred.

"What about the town house? I want Georgina and Arthur out of it."

"Coswell has drafted the eviction documents and I have men who can kick them out for you. After they're gone, would you like to sell it? You've been distressed about Arthur buying it after he lost Peachtree. We don't have to keep it."

"I hadn't thought that far ahead."

"I'm wondering if I shouldn't sell this place too. We could take the money from both sales and retire to Thornhill Manor."

She straightened, as if he'd poked her with a pin. "Would you do that for me? You always insist that you hate the country."

" I hate it, but you love it. Wouldn't you be happier at Thornhill?"

"Yes, I would be." Despite having an audience, she leaned over and hugged him tight. "Thank you for considering it. Many awful things have happened to me in London, so it would be a relief to leave the city."

"While I'm out and about today, I'll purchase a wedding ring for you. Is there a gemstone that's your favorite?"

"I have no favorite. I will be thrilled with whatever you choose."

"I'd give you my mother's ring, but Cedric wagered it away in a card game when I was a boy."

Cedric snorted with disgust. "I wish you'd stop harping about that. It wasn't even real gold."

"It was Mother's ring, Cedric," Jackson said, exasperated, "so as usual, you're missing the point."

Mr. Bennett changed the subject. "When is the wedding to be? Have you decided?"

She had no idea about any of it, so Jackson replied for her. "Coswell and I will deliver the injunctions, then my next chore is to figure out how to apply for a Special License, so we can hold the ceremony immediately. I'm betting I have to request it from a high-ranking bishop, but I'm not certain if that's correct."

"You're such a heathen," Mr. Bennett said, "and we've never belonged to a church. Are you positive a church official will assist you?"

"No," Jackson bluntly stated and they all laughed.

"If you can't arrange it," Theo said, " I belong to a church and I attend services regularly. I can ask my vicar to call the banns."

At the suggestion, Jackson scowled. "Are you joking? If we call the banns, we'll have to delay a whole month. I'd never allow you that much time to ponder the consequences of being my bride. I'm convinced you'd back out."

"You are so worried that I'll come to my senses, but I won't. You're about to be stuck with me forever."

"Aren't I lucky then?"

He kissed her again, with everyone watching, then he rushed off to fetch his coat up in his bedchamber. The footmen departed too, carrying dishes to the kitchen, so she and Mr. Bennett were alone.

Once it was quiet, she said, "What is your opinion, Mr. Bennett? Jackson suddenly seems determined to be a husband. Will he relax into the role or is he making a huge mistake?"

"He's a better man than I ever was, so I predict he'll get the hang of it. And since you're about to be my daughter, you probably ought to call me Cedric."

"I'd like that and you must call me Theo."

"I will and I'm so grateful to you for agreeing to all of this. It will be so much easier for Jackson to collect from Arthur. Arthur has been such a prig about it that Jackson finally caught up with him and pounded him into the ground."

Theo frowned. "What? They brawled?"

"Yes. Didn't Jackson explain? It's how he bruised his knuckles. He beat Arthur to a pulp."

"Over what? Over gambling debts?"

"Arthur owes him so much money and Jackson expected Arthur would sell the ships at HH Imports in order to pay up. Then you informed us that Arthur doesn't have the authority to sell them. With Jackson marrying you, he can receive what he's due from Arthur, and he won't have to fuss over it."

When she'd been in the country with Jackson, he'd confessed about how he'd been wagering with Arthur, how Arthur had accrued significant losses, but he hadn't clarified how large those losses were. Obviously, she should have delved into the situation.

What did it say about Arthur that he would gamble so recklessly? And what did it say about Jackson that he would sit there and let his opponent fall deeper and deeper into a hole? Wasn't it convenient that, by shackling himself, Jackson would instantly obtain what he'd been seeking from Arthur all along?

Her assets would be bestowed on her spouse and, voila!, he was eager to be that fortunate fellow.

His abrupt proposal had arisen so rapidly that she hadn't paused to contemplate whether he might have had an ulterior motive to wed so fast. It dawned on her that this was why a couple went slowly into a betrothal, why a girl's parents picked her husband. They had the wisdom and experience to review the relevant factors. She, on the other hand, had jumped in willy-nilly, without fretting over a single issue.

She'd presumed they would proceed because they were fond, but had his swift capitulation merely been a sly method to acquire what he was owed? Was that it?

It was a horrid suspicion to have about the man she'd been anxious to wed, but as she constantly reminded herself, they were basically strangers. The only details she'd learned about him were the ones he'd chosen to share, and she overlooked the ones that painted him in a negative light.

He was a gambler and it was his sole source of income. He wallowed in the demimonde with doxies and wastrels. He bragged about his sloth and vices and he had no kin but his disreputable father. Supposedly, he'd split from his mistress, but had he really done that? Had the irksome trollop vanished from their lives? What if she hadn't?

Those questions and a thousand more were rocking her, and though she tried to shove them away, the past few days had been too overwhelming. The foundations of her life kept being knocked away, brick by brick, and each revelation set her back on her heels a bit more. Who wouldn't be apprehensive and alarmed?

Cedric studied her and said, "Have I distressed you? I assumed you knew this about Jackson and Arthur."

"I knew they'd been gambling, but I thought they'd quit."

He smirked. "They quit all right, but it was because Arthur didn't have anything left to bet. I'm sorry you didn't realize what had transpired. I shouldn't have tipped over this applecart."

Brashly, she asked, "What was the name of Jackson's mistress?"

"Lola. Lola Carter."

"He claims he's parted from her, but is that true?"

"Yes, that is definitely true, but Lola is a notorious menace. I don't imagine she'll fade into the distance very graciously. We'll likely be dealing with her for years."

Theo scowled so furiously that her face hurt. What did he mean? Would Miss Carter repeatedly reappear? Was Jackson still enamored of her? What if he took up with her again after he wed Theo? She couldn't abide a philandering spouse, but once she spoke the vows, she'd be stuck. Could she bear it?

She didn't think so.

Cedric yanked her out of her miserable reverie by saying, "You look just like your dear mother when you scowl like that. I gaze at you and it's as if not a minute has gone by since I met her. There's not a lick of difference between the two of you."

The comment was so peculiar, and so startling, that she blanched. "Wait…what? You were acquainted with my mother?"

"Ah…yes?" He scrutinized her, then flinched. "Have I put my foot in it again? Jackson swore he'd explain this to you. He insisted he would. I didn't figure he should march to the altar with you unless he told you about me—and you were fine with it. I warned him not to proceed until you'd been apprised."

"Apprised of what, Mr. Bennett? You had better confess it to me—and fast."

"I was the rogue who ran off with her. Weren't you aware of that?"

Theo squealed with astonishment. "You were the scoundrel who lured her away?"

"I wouldn't necessarily accept the blame. Your father was a brute and she was very unhappy and desperate to escape. I was more of a willing vessel who simply facilitated her rash act."

"You were an innocent bystander? Is that it?" Her tone was more snide than she'd intended, but honestly!

"No, I would never declare myself to be innocent in any endeavor, but she was very eager for what occurred, so I can't agree that it was all my fault."

Theo was so astounded that she was amazed she didn't slide to the rug in a stunned heap. This news was too much to absorb. With this terrible history connecting them, how could Jackson and Cedric have befriended her? How could they have kept this secret from her?

Was Jackson ever planning to tell her? When? After the wedding perhaps? After he'd glommed onto HH Imports? By his concealing the truth, it imbued his every word and deed with a deceitful tinge that she couldn't ignore.

"Were you with her," Theo said, "when my father located her?"

"Yes, and for my troubles, I received a beating I barely survived." He sighed at the memory. "There were rumors that your father had locked her away somewhere, but I was never sure. I've always imagined she'd have passed away by now, but she's alive, so what's your opinion about her? Will you travel to Scotland to fetch her home or not?"

He was chatting about the old event so casually, as if it were a funny story that had happened to someone else. But his folly had ruined Theo's life. It had brought Georgina and Arthur into her world, and she was still being pummeled by the indignities the wicked pair had inflicted on her.

Jackson believed she should join his family? That she should embrace him and his father and be glad about it?

"Would you excuse me?" She leapt up so abruptly that her chair tipped over and crashed to the floor.

She hurried off, anxious to find Jackson before he went out on his errands. Behind her, Cedric called, "If it will help any, I loved your mother. She was a wonderful, tragic person."

Theo skidded to a halt and glared over her shoulder. "Be silent, Cedric! And I would appreciate it if you never mentioned my mother to me ever again."

She stormed out and raced to the stairs.

v

Jackson stuffed his arms into the sleeves of his coat, then he turned to depart. He had hours of meetings with an array of men—bankers, lawyers, judges, clerks—and he hoped it would conclude with another face-to-face encounter with Arthur. He wanted to be the one to inform the sniveling ass that his thieving was officially over.

He was about to step into the hall when Theo rushed in. Her eyes were flashing daggers and she was fit to be tied. She'd just been in the dining room with Cedric, and in that short interval, what could have transpired? If Cedric had insulted or annoyed her, Jackson would wring his neck.

"What's wrong?" he asked and he smiled to lighten the tense moment. "Please don't tell me Cedric was awful. Or you can tell me that and I won't be surprised. He can be a rude oaf, but he doesn't mean to be. Deep down, he has a good heart."

Evidently, she wasn't interested in discussing Cedric. As her opening salvo, she said, "While we were in the country, you promised you'd stop gambling with Arthur."

"Yes, and I stopped."

"After he had nothing left to wager!"

"We'd already arrived at that spot prior to you begging me to desist."

"He owes you so much money that he'd have had to sell the ships at HH Imports in order to pay you!"

Jackson simply shrugged. "He owed me a lot of money, Theo, and I didn't hide that reality from you. He's been very reckless, to the point of imperiling your security, so it's ridiculous for you to be shocked."

"You toyed with him so you could seize what belonged to me."

His temper flared, but he tamped it down. "That's not fair. I never dragged him into a single card game, and for months, I tried to steer clear of him. Yet he constantly came back—and lost—and I'm not his nanny. I won't let you blame me for his being so irresponsible."

"I'm not blaming you," she ludicrously insisted. "I'm merely curious as to why you're suddenly so eager to marry me, when in the past, you've never cared about matrimony. Arthur could never have paid you, but my husband will inherit HH Imports, and you're dying to wed me. Why is that precisely? Can you see why I might be a tad suspicious of your motives?"

He coughed out a stunned breath. "What on earth was my father saying to you?"

"Not much. Just a few secrets that you didn't bother to confide."

He scoffed. "Arthur's debt is hardly a secret I kept from you."

"Then how about the pesky detail that your father was the scoundrel who ran off with my mother? Were you ever going to tell me? Or was that a little family history you'd decided to cover up until after I was bound to you?"

He winced. He and Cedric had debated the situation, and they'd been conflicted over how to break the news to her. Jackson had intended to do it soon, but the debacle with Arthur had escalated so quickly that he hadn't had the chance. What was Cedric thinking by butting in and apprising her before Jackson could? It made Jackson's silence seem furtive and dodgy.

"I haven't had a minute to sit down with you," he said. "In case you've forgotten, I'm busy retrieving your assets and ridding you of your relatives."

"Have you any idea of how your father's thoughtless antic affected me and my sister? Can you even begin to imagine what our life was like after he whisked her away?"

He tsked with exasperation. "It was her suggestion to run off, Theo. My father was simply the fool who obliged her. If he'd refused, she would have found some other dunce. She was that determined to alter her circumstances."

It was exactly the wrong comment. She was aghast and she bristled with offense. "Are you claiming it was my mother's fault?"

"No! I'd just like you to remember that you were a child when it occurred. You might not be privy to all the facts."

"Have you really split from your mistress, Miss Carter? Or will I wind up as your wife, only to learn that you never set her aside?"

She'd changed the subject so rapidly that he felt dizzy. "What a horrid accusation! How could you level it? Of course I split with her and I'm glad I finally proceeded. I've been miserable with her for years."

Theo was quaking with wrath. "If I wed you, then find out you're still dallying with her, I can't predict how I might react."

She whipped away and stomped out. After the first afternoon, when she'd napped on his bed, she'd moved to a bedchamber down the hall. She raced into it, slammed the door, and spun the key in the lock. He dawdled in his own bedchamber, astounded, and wondering how to resolve their quarrel.

He'd attempted to explain himself, but she'd misconstrued his every word. He wasn't marrying her to recoup his debt from Arthur. How dare she assume so? He would have told her about Cedric and her mother, but he'd been preoccupied with the chores he was completing on her behalf. How dare she believe he'd deceived her? He'd tossed Lola over. How dare she suppose he hadn't?

Her fury was undeserved, as were the slurs about his motives and character. He was irritated by their bickering, and he was definitely the injured party, but he couldn't figure out how to calm the waters. She was so angry that, at the moment, there probably wasn't a single remark that would placate her.

Plus, he and Mr. Coswell were meeting with the judge at eleven to get their injunctions signed. It would start a ball rolling that would lead to the conclusion she was desperate to have. He couldn't be late for it, so he couldn't tarry and argue with her. Besides, she was so irate that it wouldn't be possible to have a rational conversation anyway.

He walked down the hall and knocked on her door, but she didn't open it.

"Go away!" she seethed from inside the room.

"I'm sorry you're so incensed and I apologize for being such an idiot."

"Yes, I'm sure you're absolutely bereft with remorse." Her tone was very snotty.

"I hate that I've distressed you. I hate that my father was indiscreet too. I apologize for him most of all."

"Go away, Jackson!" she repeated. "I can't talk to you right now."

"I can't talk either. Mr. Coswell and I have to speak with the judge at eleven."

"Fine. Have I begged you to delay? No!"

"We'll confer with him, then I'll be out all day, implementing various seizures. I won't be back until this evening. We'll chat then and you can pepper me with questions until you're hoarse from interrogating me." He paused, waiting for a response. When none came, he added, "I've parted with Lola for good. I swear it to you."

In reply, she threw an object at the door and it hit the wood so hard that he jumped. He fumed and grumbled, "Women!"

She threw something else, that hit even harder, so he marched off. She was in such a snit that there could be no reasoning with her. He'd sit down with her after supper, after she'd had a few hours to relax and would be in more of a mood to listen.

He stormed down the stairs and Cedric was standing in the foyer. Cedric frowned and said, "I heard shouting. Was it Theo? Is she aggravated with me or you?"

"Will you ever learn to shut your big, fat mouth?" Jackson asked, but it was a rhetorical inquiry that required no answer.

He swept by his father and fled the house in a blind rage.