The Bridal Contract (Darrington family Book 3) Read online

  He worked his jaw. She’d be the delicate sort, completely unsuitable for anything above embroidery work or perhaps painting. Did she play the pianoforte? He blew out a breath. It didn’t matter, but most likely. A whole sort different from what he remembered of Maria, who’d spent her time outdoors and always on the cusp of something scandalous. No passion behind Eloisa’s ladylike exterior. No, definitely not the type he’d find interesting even if he wanted a romantic tendre.

  Which he did not. Especially when it seemed his last liaison had resulted in quite the problem, which now rested against Eloisa’s legs. Gah, what a coil!

  “What, exactly, is the business at hand, beyond me hoping you’ll keep the child quiet so I may work?” She’d narrowed her eyes and had taken possession of a napkin with which she cleaned the worst of the mess from Daniela’s hands. The girl murmured a protest but didn’t pull away.

  “I wish to know what business you’re rushing to keep that demands absolute silence from your neighbors.” Provoked to a slight ire, he continued, “Do you also wish the waves to stop crashing against the shore for your blessed silence?”

  “Don’t be undignified.” She heaved a sigh that sounded as if it came from her toes. “If I tell you the truth, do you promise you won’t breathe a word to anyone around Brighton? I’d rather not have the family’s dirty laundry flapping in the proverbial breeze before matters can be attended to.”

  “I promise.” After all, who would he talk to anyway? He had no plans to meet any of the other neighbors, especially not now that Daniela was under his roof. Dear God, how exactly was he supposed to go about normal life with the child?

  Eloisa frowned. She wrapped one of Daniela’s thick curls around her index finger. “My brother, Charles, has let gambling get the better of him. He’s lost an exorbitant amount to the foul Lord Everly, so in exchange for covering the debt, he’s promised my younger sister, Helen, to the lord in marriage.”

  “Now I understand your need for concentration.” What was wrong with people? This wasn’t the Middle Ages anymore. This was supposed to be Polite Society. Did anyone have the right to trade women as property? Unfortunately, the answer would probably be yes. They weren’t all that advanced as he would like. “I don’t remember many of the Peers, but isn’t he the one who looks like a stuck pig with a pocket watch?”

  She nodded. “Just so. The very same. He’s horrible and I cannot let my sister be thrown away on the likes of him.” She stroked a hand down Daniela’s hair. “Or anyone for that matter. Marriage—or any sort of relationship—is difficult enough without being forced into it.”

  “I agree.” His thoughts strayed to Maria. For all her passion and wiles, she hadn’t really warmed to anyone else in his life. Once, he’d brought her around to meet Felix, just before he’d been injured and sent home. The woman had given his brother all the greeting of a frost queen and hadn’t let her personality shine. When asked about it, she’d replied she hadn’t trusted him and hadn’t wanted Oliver to be swayed by his brother into leaving her. He rested his gaze once more on Daniela. While she definitely resembled her mother, there was not one trace of Darrington blood in that child. Not even if he squinted could he imagine he saw himself in that face.

  “Why are you staring at her as if she were a bug to analyze?” Eloisa patted the girl on her bottom and gave her a tiny push away from the tea tray.

  “I’m convinced I’ve been deceived, and if I don’t do anything about it, I’ll be forced to raise this child as my own when she is, in fact, nothing to me.” Why would Maria do such a thing to him? Was it in retaliation for leaving or for not asking her to accompany him on his travels? Would one person hate another so much they’d use a child as a weapon to destroy a life?

  Eloisa frowned as emotions drifted over Oliver’s face. How had he not learned to school his expressions? “Be that as it may, she’s still here and you owe it to her to take care of her.”

  “I owe her? How, pray tell?” A trace of annoyance hung on the question.

  “Well, since you promised not to turn her out, what else would you do? You have to provide some way of raising her.” Her stomach clenched. What would she do in his position? No doubt it was extremely embarrassing, and would continue to be once word got out. If the girl wasn’t his, he had no obligation. Still, she wasn’t a commodity like a bag of rotted potatoes that one could send back. “No doubt she’s been through much already in her young life. At least allow her refuge here until a final decision can be made.”

  “I don’t know if I can do that.” Determination rang in his voice. “I hadn’t planned to stay in Brighton. I’m not the domestic sort and besides, Daniela hates me.”

  At the sound of her name, the child looked at Oliver. She’d wandered across the room, singing softly to herself. When she noticed the adults’ attention, she stuck a finger in her mouth and kept staring, but she didn’t cry.

  “She doesn’t hate you. She simply doesn’t know you yet.” Eloisa leaned forward. The man looked so lost her sense of duty rose. Sympathy for his position welled. “Let’s try an experiment. Come with me.” After she rose, she crossed the room and approached Daniela. Oliver slowly trailed her. “Hello, sweetie.” She knelt in front of the girl. “My name is Eloisa and I live next door to this nice man.” She gently removed the finger from Daniela’s mouth and gripped the hand as she stood. “Would you like to meet him?”

  “Where’s Mama?” the little girl asked.

  Oh, dear. What to tell her? Perhaps the truth. No sense starting her life in Brighton on a pile of lies. I hope Oliver forgives the assumption. “As far as I know, your mama is still in Spain.” She shot a glance at Oliver. Obviously the man wouldn’t offer to help. He barely knew how to handle such a situation. When he didn’t make a move to continue, she stifled a sigh. “But she wanted you to be a brave girl and have lots of adventures, so she sent you to England so you’d know…” Her voice trailed off and she again looked to Oliver. “What should I tell her to call you?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  Well, that decided his fate. “Your mama wanted you to know your papa.” Her cheeks heated when Oliver sucked in a breath. Perhaps she’d overstepped after all, but then, he should have taken the lead.

  “He is Papa?” Daniela pointed at the viscount. Her eyes were big and round.

  “Good God, Eloisa, that’s a bit of a bammer.” He snorted then addressed the child. “No, I am not,” Oliver stated with heavy annoyance. “You may call me…” He trailed off and sent a desperate look Eloisa’s way. “I cannot very well have her call me Viscount Tralsburg, can I?”

  “That is rather a mouthful for a little girl,” she agreed. Most definitely she didn’t want to see the child left at yet another waypoint in her already trial-filled journey. She thought over her own carefree childhood and playing and all the games she and her siblings engaged in. Her heart lurched. A child should never need to worry about food or having a roof over their head. She urged Daniela closer to Oliver. Besides, if they made friends, the girl wouldn’t cry and would leave the neighborhood in peace. “This is,” she swallowed, hoping to alleviate her suddenly dry throat, “the Captain. He’s going to take care of you.”

  “Botheration. That seems too formal for a child,” Oliver interjected.

  What a difficult man. “All right then. You may call him Oliver.”

  “He is Oliver.” She stared at him with her dark gaze then slowly nodded. “Can I play?”

  Eloisa had a hard time containing her amusement. “Yes, darling, but let’s find your room first, shall we?”

  “Um, the house isn’t fitted to receive a child. I’m afraid there is no room prepared.”

  “Tsk, tsk.” She peered at Oliver, who looked back with an expression of consternation. “If we get her settled, she won’t be underfoot all the time and you’ll have time to think,” she said softly in a sing-song voice.

  “Do you have to be so damned efficient and practical?” Hi
s voice was little more than a growl as he led the way out of the parlor.

  A laugh escaped before she could recall it. “I don’t have to be, but I find it’s infinitely easier to accomplish my goals if everyone around me is properly content enough that I don’t need to stop what I’m doing and fix their problems.” She adjusted her grip on Daniela’s hand, and when the girl didn’t walk fast enough, she picked her up. “Come on, poppet. Perhaps the housekeeper can guide us since it seems Oliver hasn’t a clue.”

  A scant half hour later saw Daniela happily bouncing on a bed that had been dressed with a white counterpane trimmed with crocheted eyelet lace. Some of the toys scattered about the gleaming hardwood were slightly worn, but the girl had already played with two of the dolls.

  The housekeeper smiled. “Those toys were in storage and used to belong to the viscount’s sisters. I don’t see the harm in letting this wee one play with them.”

  “You’re a gem. Thank you.” Eloisa nodded at the woman. “Will you keep an eye on her? I need to return home, and I’m sure the viscount needs to make arrangements since his world has been set on its ear.”

  “My pleasure, miss.” The woman nodded. “It’s been too long since I’ve had little ones to mind. It’ll bring back nice memories, especially since none of the Darrington brood has started families.”

  Oliver groaned. “Not you too, Susan. You’re as bad as Mother.” He left the room in a huff.

  Eloisa glanced at the housekeeper. “If something goes horribly wrong and you cannot quiet the girl, I’m just next door. Come fetch me and I’ll try to sooth the situation.”

  “Very well, miss. I did think it awful scandalous having the girl under this roof, but the more I think of it now, the more I know she needs to be here. She’ll settle the viscount. You just watch.”

  I don’t know about that, but there are worse pairings. She nodded, thanked the woman again then followed Oliver back to the parlor. He paced the length of the room, his hair sticking up in even more angles than it had before. “I assume your mother is most anxious for her children to wed?”

  He turned and pinned her with a baleful glance. “Always. Just this morning, in the midst of the upheaval Daniela’s arrival brought, I received a letter from my dear parent.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “She has the gall to summon me to London when I’ve barely gotten settled here. She’s having a dinner party and says Felix and Charlotte will be in attendance.”

  “This is a bad thing? Do you not wish to spend time with your siblings?” She couldn’t resist baiting him. There was something about him that appealed to her sense of humor.

  “No, it’s not that.” Oliver resumed his pacing. On the pass that brought him near her position, he sighed and finally halted. “Perhaps it is that. Both Felix and Charlotte have recently found matches, and apparently they’ve come about quite scandalously. My brother is married and is involved with matters of Parliament and running the estate, while Charlotte will no doubt be obnoxiously happy and gushing about her coup.”

  Eloisa snorted then hurriedly turned her amusement into a cough. “I see. Is it their romantic happiness you despise or the fact your mother wishes the same for you?”

  His bark of laughter held no mirth. “Mother doesn’t want happiness for her children. She wants grandchildren, plain and simple.”

  The poor man was practically beside himself. “Forgive me if I sound confused, but is that such a bad thing?”

  “Yes!” His eyes were a tad wild. “Er, it is for me. I’m not a family man, have no wish for children or a wife. I want my ship and the sea and the freedom found therein.”

  She gaped. Never had she heard such passion from a man. His blue gaze sparkled. A flush of color enlivened his face. Another tingle moved through her lower belly. Too bad such a magnificent man wanted to shut himself away. Equally as bad was his stance on wives and children. Good thing she felt absolutely no attraction to him whatsoever. Thank goodness she was still in love with Peter. “Well, that is a problem since you do have a child under your roof.” She didn’t bother to hide her irritation. Not passionate about a wife or a child? What sort of man was he? Didn’t all men wish to settle down with a love and a family?

  “Yes, it is.” He turned, and when she thought he’d pace again, he, instead, stood in front of the window with his hands clasped behind his back. “I wish you luck in getting your sister’s difficulty sorted, but I’m feeling quite fatigued at the moment and wish to be alone. Good day, Miss Hawthorne.”

  It was the first time she’d witnessed any trace of the viscount in him since they’d met. A thrill moved down her spine at the first use of his power she’d seen. “Very well.” It wasn’t even a polite dismissal. “I wish you well with Daniela. I hope you’ll promise to give things a chance before you dump her on an orphanage step. Regardless of how you hold her mother in your memories and regardless of whether the child is yours by blood, the girl is a small person and has feelings of her own. Don’t add to her trauma. None of it is her fault.”

  So saying, she exited the parlor without giving him an opportunity for rebuttal. Not that he would have. Oliver Darrington might be a handsome fellow, but he could keep his demons to himself. She had other things to worry about and none of them included delving into the secrets he kept to figure him out.

  Helen needs me more. As long as she remembered that, life would move on as normal.

  Chapter Four

  It had been three days since the advent of Daniela in the town house, and in those three days, Oliver’s patience had been tried more times than he could count. If it hadn’t been for Carruthers and Susan, he didn’t know what he would have done, for each time the girl needed something or wished to play, they quietly whisked her away. Once, he’d even spied his butler—old and frail Carruthers—racing the little girl down the staircase with laughter trailing in their wake.

  At least she hadn’t taken to crying again. Oh no. Since the older retainers practically gave the girl the run of the house, her new favorite thing to do was to stand in the doorway of his study and stare at him, usually with a finger in her mouth and a doll tucked under her arm. She never talked, never did much of anything except watch him. When she tired, she’d dash off into another part of the house, but invariably she’d return to his doorway. Twice he’d tried to engage her in conversation and twice, dark, unreadable emotion had sprung into her eyes before she ran away, yet he had the distinct impression she was assessing him, searching for something in him he didn’t know if he possessed. At times, she’d cock her head to the side in such a manner that provoked memories of Maria, and that terrified him. What if, by some bizarre twist, the girl truly was his by blood?

  Then he firmly shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind. That couldn’t be fathomed. He should be angry at Maria, even at the child, since it seemed that his mistress had seen another man while under his protection. He snorted. He couldn’t have made a bigger muck of things if he’d tried.

  A tiny sound at the door roused him from his contemplation of the local paper. Daniela stood again in his doorway, same stance as before. Susan had gone to the market for supplies and Carruthers had accompanied her. Most likely the pair of them would return with a treat for the girl. Oliver scowled as he tried to ignore the child’s presence by facing away from her. The older couple had fallen under Daniela’s charm and would do anything for her. It apparently had been as easy for them as it had with Eloisa.

  He hadn’t. There simply wasn’t a place for a child in the life he wanted. A fit of the blue devils descended. How the hell was he to unravel this knot? The more he attempted to ignore the child, the more the weight of her stare bore into him. Finally, he glanced at her and met her gaze. For one second, he expected her to look away, but she did not. Instead, she slid the finger from her mouth and gave him a grin that held enough mischief to put a houseful of servants on alert.

  Curiosity speared him. She really was a pretty thing and for the time being, she did live here. Why should
n’t they be friends? With slow movements, he stood and edged around his desk. The rich scent of his tea permeated the air, but he only had eyes for the little girl. Would today be the day she called a truce? “Hello, Daniela.” He kept his voice low as he extended a hand. “Would you like to keep me company?”

  She looked at his hand then back at his face. “Where is Isa?”

  Who? He wracked his brain. Who did she mean? Was that the name of one of her dolls? “I’m sorry, pet. I’m not sure who you’re talking about.” He wriggled his fingers. “Want to come read the paper with me?”

  Daniela shook her head. “Want Isa to come.” She pointed out the window.

  Oh. Oh! She wanted Eloisa, his pretty neighbor. Heat rushed over him as he recalled seeing her for the first time in his entryway. His recognition of her had hit him like the proverbial lightning bolt out of the blue. The last time he remembered seeing her, she’d been an awkward, clumsy schoolgirl when she’d visited with her brother from London, but now her Italian heritage had transformed her into an enchanting beauty, and one he’d disparaged thanks to his rampant lack of society charm.

  He cleared his throat. “Daniela, I’m sure Eloisa is busy.”

  Yes, he’d felt a strong rush of initial desire for his neighbor, but he’d tamped it. He didn’t want an involvement, not now. There was adventure ahead for him, and if he could manage to make other provision for the child, he could still be on schedule to meet it. He’d worked too long and too hard to gain this place in his life. No way would he go adventuring while leg-shackled to a whiny, fragile woman who feared malaria or tropical diseases or sleeping outside at times. And Eloisa fit that bill. If anyone was more feminine than Miss Hawthorne, he hadn’t seen them.