Gayle Callen - Every Scandalous Secret

Every Scandalous Secret

Gayle Callen

To Theresa Kovian, longtime Packeteer and good friend. Youve never given up on your writing, and now have grown in new directions with new challenges. Youll always have my admiration and respect.

Contents

Hertfordshire, 1846

T his was not the first time Mr. Leo Wade arrived at a house party without an invitation; however, it was the only time he had arrived anywhere with the intention of catching a spinster.

I seem to be interrupting, he said cheerfully, looking about as if intrigued by the identity of the guests arrayed in the Marquess of Bramfields elegant, marble-columned drawing room.

But he only cared about Miss Susanna Leland, cousin to the Duke of Madingley, artist, bluestocking, and a spinster by any definition. She was sitting by herself, spectacles flashing a momentary reflection of candlelight. Not his usual quarry, and that was proving most interesting.

Their gazes clashed, and he knew shed begun to think herself safe from him, that he hadnt followed her from London. If he expected dismay, he was pleasantly surprised not to receive it. She looked over her spectacles at him, her cool brown eyes briefly narrowed as if he were a peculiar sort of insect. Her unfashionable dark red hair was pulled severely back into a chignon at the base of her neck. No ringlets for Susanna. Her face was almost pretty in a plain sort of way, with cheekbones that would have been dramatic had her mouth not been a bit too wide. Her ordinary gown began at the base of her neck, leaving not a hint of womanly cleavage. Though her figure looked average and not overly endowed, a corset could hide much.

If the painting hanging in his London club was correct, much was certainly hidden.

And he was prepared to discover it all.

Viscount Swanley grinned at him and left the side of his father, Lord Bramfield. Swanley was a tall, gangly, dark-haired man, perpetually cheerful and able to overlook Leos many sins, if not participate. They gave a quick nod to each other for etiquettes sake.

Good to see you, Swanley said, then glanced back at his mother. My lady, did you invite Wade without telling me?

Lady Bramfield, plump with her settled life, forced a smile from beneath her crown of gray-streaked untamable curls. I regret to say I did not, but his appearance here surely rectifies my mistake.

She exchanged a glance with her husband, tall as his heir, Swanley, but rather stooped, as if he spent so much of his time bending over to talk to people that it had become a permanent condition. During their momentary silent communication, Leo waited, confident of the outcome.

You must stay at our house party, Swanley said. There are birds to shoot and pretty girls to watchhe added the latter in an undertoneand card games where Ill certainly best you at last.

Leo chuckled and resisted the urge to send impassive Susanna a triumphant grin. As long as watching pretty girls is treated as a sport and not a step toward marriage, then you can count on my companionship. He shuddered. Ive avoided these house parties because theyre usually a veritable marriage mart.

Swanley laughed. You have to marry sometime, Wade. Why resist the inevitable, when it can be so pleasant?

Leo snorted. My brother has the title and all the duties attending it. Im in no hurry to join him in marital shackles. For a moment, memories swamped him of the constant fighting his parents had engaged in, the disdain, the bitterness. Nothing he and his brother and sister tried ever made things better. His brothers recent marriage still seemed too good to last, so Leo watched it from afar, feeling almost guilty, as if he were awaiting their unhappiness.

Lady Caroline, their hosts daughter, walked to Susannas side, towering over the other ladies, her dismay with his presence very evident. She whispered something in Susannas ear, and although his quarry nodded, she revealed nothing else. He rather liked the way he couldnt read her every emotion. Made it more of a challenge.

You have arrived just in time for dinner, Swanley was saying.

Leo turned his most humble smile on Lady Bramfield. I do regret the inconvenience, my lady. Swanley always said I should drop by if I was traveling north from London.

I hope we are not keeping you, Lady Bramfield said quickly, glancing over at the innocent young ladies in her charge.

Though she obviously wished him gone to protect her flock, she couldnt know that Susanna was not so innocent. Nothing that cannot wait, he assured the marchioness.

To her credit, her fixed smile didnt change.

Several of the younger men moved among the ladies although one chap stood off by himself awkwardly. A mix of gentlemen and nobility, none so highly ranked that they would think themselves too lofty for such a gathering. He wasnt certain that the mix was ideal, but if these were the eligible men Bramfield wanted his daughter and the other unmarried women to choose from, who was Leo to protest?

Ignore Greenwichs frown, Swanley said in a quiet voice. Hes a windsucker.

The earl was frowning at Leo as if in warning, marring his distinguished looks, while his wife, with hair unnaturally dark for her age, whispered animatedly in his ear, her affronted gaze never leaving Leo. Then Leo spotted Lady May, their pretty blond daughter, who fluttered her lashes and her fan at his notice. Ah yes, she must be the lamb to my wolf, if the earls demeanor means anything.

But Greenwich didnt need to worryLeo hadnt arrived to peruse possible lovers, certainly not among the debutantes. Susanna was his main mission, the subject of a wager hed proposed with his two closest friends. Recklessness was nothing new for himdesperation was. Hed been feeling bored with a life that had always provided such amusement and excitement. Each day had become almost... predictable. Surely a wager against three beautiful women should get him over this strange restlessness that had recently invaded his thoughts.

His arrival necessitated rearranging the procession into dinner, and now that the numbers were uneven, shy Mr. Tyler walked alone at the end.

Susanna, noticing what Leos arrival had done to the other man, gave him another disapproving stare. He grinned at her, then held his arm out for Miss Norton, the niece of their host, with sandy hair and a freckled face that blushed prettily when she gaped up at him. Susanna and her escort walked just behind them in line.

There was already a seat for Leo at the table, as if hed been invited all along, and he proceeded to enjoy dinner. He kept up a lively conversation with many of the guests except Susanna, who spoke calmly to the gentlemen on either side of her.

Leo bided his time, conversing with the men over port and cheroots after dinner, until at last they rejoined the ladies in the drawing room. The older ladies looked up with fondness to their husbands, while the younger ladies betrayed a bit too much eagerness.

Leo walked purposefully toward Susanna. He felt the change in the air, the way people tried not to watch his progress across the room. He could tell by the set of her shoulders that Susanna felt their stares, but she turned away to talk to one of the young ladies at her sideMiss Randolph? He thought he remembered the way Miss Randolph spoke in a half-whispering voice that betrayed her zeal.

When he stopped in front of Susanna, she raised an eyebrow as if she couldnt fathom why hed approached her. The minx.

He hadnt imagined he could enjoy himself as much as he had five days ago, when hed seen her dressed as a boy, but tonight was almost proving its equal in entertainment.

Miss Leland, he said, bowing to her.