His Wicked Lady (23 page)

He didn’t know what to say. For one, he’d
never actually read the book, so he didn’t know what was in it, an
error he was regretting at the moment since this gave him a
disadvantage in this conversation. And two, he could tell she was
sincere. She honestly hadn’t meant for the book to end up being the
scandalous thing it’d turned into…which prompted him to finally
speak.

“Lord Edon hands them out,” he said. “That’s
why so many think its contents are unsuitable for reputable
gentlemen.”

Except for the rare few like Lord Roderick
who didn’t mind letting others know he had a copy, probably because
he understood the intention of the book was exactly what she had
hoped for when writing it. Which further meant, of course, Lord
Roderick was more intelligent than most of the gentleman at
White’s.

“That was Frederick’s idea,” she replied,
turning the book over in her hands. “He thought it best to deliver
copies to Lord Edon since no one would question it if London’s most
notorious rake had copies of this on hand.” She shrugged.
“Frederick said it would help Lord Edon’s image. I don’t know if
that’s true or not, but it’s why we chose him.”

Malcolm considered his next question before
asking, “Did Frederick help you write it?”

“All he did was draw the pictures,” she said.
“I have no artistic talent. Leonard gets his artistic ability from
him. He thought it would help gentlemen if they had something
visual to go by.”

Frederick was probably right.

“No one knows I wrote it, Malcolm,” Regan
said, finally coming back to the bed. She settled on the edge of it
and stared at the book in her hands. “The secret is safe, and it’ll
continue to stay safe. I didn’t say a word about it to anyone.
Frederick picked a discreet gentleman who owns a printer to run off
copies of this book once a year for the next ten years. The
printer’s been paid in advance, and he delivers the books to Lord
Edon at the beginning of every Season. I don’t have to do anything,
so no one will find out the truth.”

She stopped talking and lifted her gaze, her
eyes meeting his. He couldn’t hate her. He couldn’t even hate the
book now that he knew the truth behind why it was written. All this
time, he’d assume the author was some braggart who wished to lord
his sexual prowess over other gentlemen. He never once guessed it
was really a lady who wished to help husbands grow closer to their
wives.

“I don’t hate you, Regan,” he said, his voice
soft in the quiet room. “I understand why you didn’t tell me about
the book sooner. You didn’t want to disappoint me.”

“No, I didn’t, but it’s also not fair to keep
the truth from you.”

“You shouldn’t have to keep anything from me.
I’m your husband. If there’s anyone you should be able to tell the
truth to, it’s me.” He reached for her hand and took it in his.
“Regan, over the past couple days I saw a side of you that made me
think you could be the one person in this world who truly
understands and respects me. And last night when you were willing
to leave Logan and Melissa’s to show them you supported me, I knew
I could trust you with my life. Our time in bed together wasn’t
just about having children. It was about being with you. I love
you.”

Tears filled her eyes as she smiled at him.
“Oh Malcolm, I love you, too. I think I fell in love with you the
moment I met you. I just didn’t approach you the right way.”

He chuckled. “It wasn’t that bad. You could
have stumbled on top of me like Lord Roderick’s wife did when they
met.”

“I missed that scandal,” she said.

“You would have liked it. For all
appearances, it really did look like they were about to engage in
something highly inappropriate.”

“I didn’t think you attended balls.”

“Usually, I don’t, but I was there that
evening because my father wanted to establish a business
connection, and I wanted to be a part of it.”

“Of all the scandals, that one sounded like
the most exciting one.”

“It was, except for the things Dr. Westward
did. Lord and Lady Roderick are still permitted to go to everyone’s
balls. Dr. Westward’s been banned from over half of them. You might
have enjoyed living the scandalous life with him more than the
boring one you have with me,” he teased, squeezing her hand. “But I
suppose it won’t be so bad if we bring a pillow in the carriage.
That way you can fall asleep if things get too boring.”

As he hoped, she giggled at his joke. “I
could never be bored with you, Malcolm. When you make love to a
lady, there’s nowhere else she’d rather be than in your bed.”

“That’s a relief. Now that I know you wrote
the book, I was a bit worried I didn’t meet up to your
expectations.”

“All those careful calculations you make with
investing has paid off very well in bed. You know exactly how to
torment me to the point where I forget everything but how good
you’re making me feel.”

“Good. Being the husband of the author of
this book,” he tapped it, “I need to make sure I succeed in this
area.”

“You don’t just succeed. You excel at it,
just like you do with your investments.”

He couldn’t be sure if she was telling him
this to stroke his ego or because she was hoping he’d be inclined
to spend more time in bed with her, but either way, he supposed it
didn’t matter. The important thing was she was happy with him. He
urged her to come closer to him, and once she did, he lifted the
shift off her shoulders. Then, he proceeded to make love to her,
making sure both of them received their fill of pleasure in the
act.

Chapter Twenty

T
wo days later, Regan began writing Logan a missive in the
drawing room. She had meant to write to him sooner. She had to
thank him for all of his advice, which had paid off so much better
than she’d ever dreamed. Malcolm had not only made love to her, but
he’d actually chosen to spend time with her instead of running off
to White’s. Oh, she didn’t expect him to always choose her over
White’s. Gentlemen, much like ladies, needed to have their own
interests and enjoy talks with members of the same sex, but it was
nice to know Malcolm deemed her important enough to include her in
his life. Best of all, he loved her. Really and truly loved
her.

Her lips curled up into a smile, and she let
out a contented sigh. Love was such a wonderful thing.

Leonard’s laughter drifted from the den,
reminding her she didn’t have much time to waste. At the moment,
Malcolm was giving Leonard a lesson on money. She assumed he’d
picked up where he left off the other day with the chess pieces,
but he could have thought of something different, for all she
knew.

Turning back to the parchment, she dipped the
quill in the inkwell and continued the letter, letting him know how
well his advice worked and how grateful she was for his discretion
in the matter.

The butler came into the room. “I was given
specific instructions to deliver this only to you,” he said as he
placed the rectangular object wrapped in plain brown paper on her
desk.

If she had to guess, Logan had sent her the
book he’d tried to give her the other evening. Bless him, he meant
well. After the butler left, she ripped up the missive she’d been
writing. Perhaps it would be best to send Logan a gift.

She took the thing the butler had given her
and tore open a piece of the brown paper. Sure enough, it was the
book. Even though Malcolm had graciously accepted the fact that
she’d written it, she saw no reason to upset him by letting him
know Logan sent it to her.

She went up to her bedchamber and opened the
top drawer of her dresser to put it away with the other copy. But
the book wasn’t pressed neatly up against the left side as she’d
placed it. It was more to the right. Curious, she pulled it out and
flipped through it. To her surprise, there was a note tucked in one
of the pages. She took the note out and unfolded it.

My dear wicked lady,

I thought of a game you might enjoy. Over
the next month, I’ll pick things from this book, and you let me
know which chapter I got the idea from. Just leave me a note in
this book, and I’ll leave a note letting you know if you’re right
or not.

Forever Yours,

Malcolm

Her skin flushed with
pleasure at the thought of playing such a game. With a giggle, she
retrieved the quill from the small desk in the other room and wrote
on the back of the note,
Let the game
begin
, and slipped it back into the
book.

Then she placed the copy Logan gave her in
the desk in the small room. Afterwards, she went back
downstairs.

Malcolm and Leonard were still in the den.
And, as she suspected, Malcolm was using the chess pieces.

“But if you do that, you’ll lose your land,”
Malcolm told Leonard. “You remember what I said you most want to
keep: your manor and your land. You’re the son of an earl. That
means you have a title to pass on to your son, and when you do,
you’ll want to give him an estate that’s in good standing.”

“But the King and Queen are dull,” Leonard
replied.

“To a grown gentleman, the land and manor can
seem dull, too. But you must remember, these are the foundation on
which everything else rests. Gambling, dalliances with the wrong
kind of ladies, excessive drinking, reckless spending on things
that won’t truly satisfy… All of these will try to rob you of the
things most important to your title. It is your responsibility to
give your future children the gift of a good legacy. These
foundations,” he gestured to the King and Queen, “are a part of
that.”

“What’s the other part?” Leonard asked.

“A good reputation. A good lady of fine moral
standing can help with that.”

“And if you can’t find such a lady,” Regan
interrupted, coming further into the room so they could see her,
“then you must find one who can at least play the part.”

Malcolm glanced her way and smiled. “You play
the part very well, my dear.”

“I do what I can,” she replied with a
curtsey.

Malcolm patted Leonard on the back. “I think
we’ve talked enough about money for today. Are you ready to go to
the park?”

Leonard nodded, and Malcolm headed over to
her. “I have something I want to pick up,” Malcolm told her. Before
she could ask him what it was, he added, “I can’t say what I’m up
to. It’s a surprise. I was wondering if you would mind meeting me
at the park in an hour?”

“An hour will be just fine,” she replied.
That would give her enough time to go to the market and select a
gift to send Logan.

After Malcolm gave her a kiss, he ruffled
Leonard’s hair and left the room, whistling as he headed out.

“Are you ready?” she asked Leonard, turning
to him. “I was thinking we might pick something up for you at the
market before we meet your father at the park.”

“I don’t like chess,” her son said,
surprising her.

“Why not?”

“You don’t play it on the board. You just
look at the pieces. Then you talk about money.”

With a chuckle, she took his hand and led him
to the drawing room so she could retrieve her reticle. “You do use
a board when you actually play the game. Father’s just using the
pieces to teach you about the proper use of money, and he’s right,
Leonard. You’ll want to make sure your estate is in good condition
when you’re older. Many titled gentlemen are ruined for not doing
better with their money.”

He didn’t look the least bit enthusiastic by
her response.

“When you get older, you’ll appreciate all
the time your father is taking to teach you about the proper use of
money. And,” she added when he yawned, “the fact that he’s taking
time to teach you means he thinks of you as his own son. It’s
really a compliment.”

As she hoped, he smiled at that. Satisfied,
she led him to the carriage.

***

“It’s a beautiful cane,” Regan said a half
hour later as she turned the dark cane over in her hands. The tip
had a nice, golden curved handle, something she thought Logan might
like. The style seemed to fit him. “I’ll buy it,” she told the
gentleman who was selling it.

“Very good, my lady,” he replied, a pleased
smile on his face.

She handed him the money then asked, “I’d
like to send this to a friend. Can you deliver it for me?”

“Certainly.”

After she paid for the cane, she wrote down
the address he should send it to and added a quick note thanking
Logan, knowing he’d know exactly what it was she was thanking him
for. When she was done, she turned to her son and browsed through
the toys in the marketplace until he found one he wanted.

By the time they made it to the park, Malcolm
was waiting for them, holding something behind his back. Sensing he
was up to something, she asked, “What trouble do you bring with
you, Malcolm?”