Wife Errant Read Online Free PDF Page A

Marchant?”
    “Certainly, I will be happy to give you a ride, Lord James,”she lied, and went out with him, her heart aflutter to be alone with her mama's beau.
    In the saloon, Lady Revel said to her son, “What did you say to him?”
    “Just what we discussed. He had no idea Northbay was entailed.”
    “But he will stop seeing her? Those poor girls are kept home every night, Anthony. They cannot go to the assemblies without a chaperone, and you may be sure James does not take the mama there.”
    “He says he has already made a few assignments with Mrs. Marchant. He will fulfill them—it would be rude to do otherwise—but he will cut the friendship off gently.”
    “Good. Now call Figgs. And give me some money. I owe him a guinea. Best make it two. He always wins. I am quite certain he cheats.”
    “I must show you how to palm the cards.”Revel dropped some coins into his mother’s outstretched palm and went to call Figgs.
    In the Marchant’s carriage, Lord James was walking on eggs. Anthony’s announcement that Mrs. Marchant had a son was a sore blow. The boy had been at school when he met her, and she was not the sort of lady who harped on her children when she was with a gentleman. He thought Northbay was hers outright.
    An estate entailed on a son was no good to him. Tess, on the other hand, had a dot of ten thousand clear. Dulcie had the same, and she was prettier, but a lady close to a third his own age was just a trifle absurd. He was absurd enough without that. Tess was not much less than half his age.
    “I want to apologize for my thoughtlessness, Miss Marchant,”he said humbly. “I assure you my only motive in seeing your mama was to give her whatever solace my presence provided at this cruel time.”
    “Thank you, Lord James,”she said, and was suddenly seized with a shaft of pity for the man. It was a shabby way to have to live, running from pillar to post. “I made sure you would see common sense when you knew the whole.”
    “I am such a selfish beast! I never gave a thought to you two girls, left alone night after night. My only thought was for your mama.”
    “It is Dulcie’s debut next spring that is of particular concern, you see,”she explained. “She could not be presented if Mama was divorced.”
    “And what of Miss Marchant’s debut?”he asked archly. “I do not recall having seen you in London, ma’am. I am sure I would have noticed.”
    “I did not make my bows.”
    “So you two ladies will be presented together? What a treat for the gentlemen!”
    “No, indeed! I would stay at Northbay to look after things.”
    “It is as I feared,”he said. “You have already made your choice.”Tess’s pity began to fade. The old fool was taking a run at her ten thousand.
    “No, it is not that. Mama was ill when I should have made my bows. Now I am a little old to be making a debut.”
    “Old! This is nonsense. You cannot be a day older than nineteen.”He scrutinized her face for signs of age.
    “I am going on twenty-two, Lord James.”
    Lord James garnered up all these details with great glee. A fair-looking spinster firmly glued to the shelf; she would not balk at his age and lack of funds. A pity he had become entangled with the mama, but he might turn that to advantage, if he played his cards wisely.
    “What a beautiful day it is!”he exclaimed, peering through the window. “Must you really dash home and write letters?”
    “I am afraid I must.”She had firmly decided she would not write those letters, but they provided an excuse to escape Lord James.
    “Could we not take just a little spin into the countryside? I miss my poor old rig. Let me show you the route of the race I spoke of. It is not far. Just west of the Sydney Gardens. Have you seen the Sydney Gardens?”
    “We more usually go to the Crescent Gardens, closer to home.”
    “You must see the Sydney Gardens. They used to be called the Vauxhall of Bath. What gay revels we—my papa enjoyed there, in the