The Marquess’ Temptation Page 2
“What is your name?”
“Abigail. Abigail O’Reilly.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Abigail. I’m Abraham Montgomery.” He smiled at her. When she smiled back, he could tell she was still very nervous. “You don’t need to be nervous, Abby. It’s all right if I call you Abby, isn’t it? Do you want to take a walk with me?”
“I am here to work, my Lord, I do not know if my mistress would agree to this.”
“I will cover for you, there are other servants working here. They won’t notice one missing, come on.”
He stood up and held out his hand to her. She took it, while anxiously looking around.
“You are a regular servant here?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“The Worthingtons are your employers?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“All right. You know this mansion. Show me where we might be able to go to find some privacy.”
Abigail’s anxiety was at its peak. Lord Montgomery was a very handsome man, but her position prevented her from fraternizing with the elites. She had trained herself to follow the rules. She felt confused. Her body reacted to William the way he wanted it to, but her mind was screaming that it was going to cause a lot of trouble in the future.
“I could lose my position here, my Lord.”
“You will be guaranteed a position in my manor, if that should happen, but if we play our cards right, your mistress will never find out. That’s why you must choose somewhere that is very private. Somewhere we can be alone without the fear of being interrupted. Surely you know of such a place.”
Abigail nodded slowly. “I do, my Lord. I do.”
He looked at her with expectant eyes, leaned over and whispered, “Take me there.”
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“Yes, It is. Even as bad as your marriage was, you didn’t keep Diana in a cage. You didn’t fool her into thinking her thoughts meant nothing and you were the only one she should live for.”
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CHAPTER THREE
ABRAHAM AND MEG
“When was the last time you spoke with him?” Abe asked, glancing up at his younger sister, Meg, as he poured drinks for them both.
“It has to have been at least two weeks. He was not in good spirits the last time we spoke and I didn’t want to be around him. I told him to get in touch with me when he was not in such a rotten mood.”
“He’s been very surly lately.”
“It hasn’t just started, Abe, and you know it.” She reached up to take the drink he was offering her. “He’s been troubled since he was a youth. Marrying did not help him settle down. Liza can barely handle him, much less tame him in any way.”
“I know. I’m just wondering what has happened in the last month to make him so surly.”
“There is no way to tell without asking him. I have not the time or energy to analyze every move our brother makes.”
“Nor I.” Abe took a sip from his drink. He took a few moments to think before he continued. “I suppose we could hire someone to follow him and see what he is up to.”
“He makes a great deal of money with his business dealings.”
“But yet he never feels the need to contribute to the expenses of running the estate. Why do you think that is?”
“He spends it on his own pleasures. Women, dances, fine clothing and furnishings for his manor, He has no regard for anyone but himself.”
“I hate to think that we are going to spend our whole evening talking about what a wretch our brother is.” Abe sat next to his sister on the velvet couch. She was sitting to one side and he turned and faced her. “It has been almost a month since we’ve seen each other face to face. What a shame that our first topic of discussion would be William.”
“It doesn’t have to be our only topic of discussion. We will go on to happier, more entertaining things in a moment. For now, we must discuss and dismiss the elephant in the room.”
Abe laughed. “The elephant in the room? I have never heard that phrase before.”
“I heard it from an American at one of the parties I attended.”
“It’s interesting.”
“I thought so, too.”
“So now our brother is the elephant in the room. What do you suggest we do about him? There is no way for us to force him to participate in taking care of father’s estate.”
“What do you think of hiring someone to watch him and report back to us?”
“That is probably a good idea, Meg. We can’t go on paying for everything out of our own personal accounts while he spends his money elsewhere.”
“The wrong people are getting his money.”
“I agree.” He took several short sips from his glass. “Do you have any kind of plan?”
“I spoke to Liza this morning. I stopped by there while I was out in the carriage.”
“Did you really?”
“I certainly did.”
“And how did that go?”
“She was not as pleased to see me as I would have expected. After only a few minutes of speaking with her, I realized what had happened.”
“She has been sour toward us for nearly a year. Isolating herself, and not wanting to spend any time with the family.”
“Apparently, William has been telling her that we are not interested in having a relationship with her. He told her that we consider her an outsider, despite her substantial dowry, the wealth of her family and the fact that she had her own title before she married William.”
“He doesn’t even have a title. As the younger brother, he will never be Duke.” Abe shook his head. “That will be Carter, whether William likes it or not. It will never pass to him, even if I died tomorrow. Carter will be the next Duke of Fairfield.”
“I am aware.”
“So she sacrificed her title to marry him.”
“Exactly, and also, I don’t know if you have spoken to her recently…” He shook his head and she continued. “She is absolutely smitten with him. There is no way she doesn’t know about his dalliances. She must know, it has been rumored for months. We all know about it.”
“If he has cut her off from this family, I’m sure he has succeeded in fooling her about her own family and friends as well. Do you think anyone has told her about what William does? I’m sure he hides it well.”
“I’m sure he does, and no, I fear we are not the only ones who have kept silent about what he’s been doing.”
“Then we are as guilty as he is for not exposing his behavior to her, before it became painful.”
“It would always have been painful, Abe. Considering how much she loves him, I have my doubts that she will do anything about it.”
“It is a shame to see love wasted that way. It is so rare to find.”
“Yes, it is.”
“You are blessed with a husband who truly cares for you.”
“Yes. Michael was an amazing find. I do hope that I never find out he’s been seeking a mistress.”
“How could any man have eyes for any woman other than you, Meg?” Abe gave her a wide smile.
“It happens. If you think about it, why would our brother chase after any woman other than Liza? She is not homely in any way. Her beauty far surpasses many of the women, ten or more years younger than her .”
“I agree, and it seems we have come back around to talking about William and his dastardly deeds.”
“Yes, it happens doesn’t it?”
“Did you talk to Liza about the financial situation with the estate and that William needs to take part in it?”
“I touched on the subject, but William keeps her at arm’s length. She has no influence over him. I had been thinking all this time that she was the aggressor in their marriage, but I was mistaken. He has her under his complete control.”
“That is horrible.”
“Yes, It is. Even as bad as your marriage was, you didn’t kee
p Diana in a cage. You didn’t fool her into thinking her thoughts meant nothing and you were the only one she should live for.”
“No, I would never have done that.”
“I know. I know you, brother.”
“And we know William, as well. You mentioned that we were meeting tonight?”
“I did.”
“Alright, let’s hire someone to see what William is up to, and we must make it a priority to let Liza know about his behavior. She has a right to know.”
“I wish it wasn’t something we had to do. I wish we could find a good friend of Liza’s and convince them to tell her.”
“Let’s think about it a little longer.”
He stood back up to refill their glasses. “Dinner should be ready shortly.”
“Thank you, Abe.”
“I’m glad you are here.”
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“Where are you taking me, my dear?”
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CHAPTER FOUR
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER…AND FORGET
The music from the gala behind them faded as they hurried down the hallway together. Abigail’s body was on fire. She couldn’t decide if it was her anxious state or excitement that a lord had shown interest in her. Perhaps he would be her way out of the mire, out of her life as a servant. If she were to give herself to him, he would surely feel obligated to remove her from her servant hood.
“Where are you taking me, my dear?” William was excited and not in the least bit nervous. He wasn’t even here under his own name. He had always wanted to bed a servant but if it had gotten around, which secrets tend to do, his name would be ruined. His brother was a bachelor now that Diana was dead. It would only be a blip in his reputation, if it were to ever come out at all.
As for himself, his own reputation could not stand up against the allegation of his infidelity. It would break Liza’s heart and make her family angry. He knew they would take it out on him, perhaps even come gunning for him. It was just easier to pretend to be Abe. That way, no one would get hurt and no one would be the wiser.
“My loft is at the top of the stairs, my Lord.” Abigail whispered breathlessly as she led him down a deserted hallway toward a narrow staircase at the end. “Will that be private enough to suit you?”
“That sounds perfect.” William nodded. He could feel the blood in his body churning with desire. He hadn’t felt that way about Liza for some time. In fact, he sometimes fantasized about getting rid of Liza somehow. She was unable to bear him any children, so in essence, she was useless to him. Her beauty would soon fade and there would be nothing left for him but a talking, walking shell of a woman, hanging on to him like an unwanted vine. She wasn’t even very bright. For the life of him, he didn’t know why he’d married her. He could have just played with her the way he played with the rest of his women. Then he would be free to do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted.
The idea was a double-edged sword. He knew that if he was free to dally with women the way he wanted, the excitement of it all would vanish and he would find life boring and uninteresting. This way, there was much more excitement. The “forbidden fruit” he constantly sought kept him going from one woman to another, anyone other than his wife.
He followed behind Abigail, watching the way her body moved in the uniform, which was longer than he would have expected. It was a black dress, reaching down to her ankles, with a crisp white apron that looked brand new. She had light stockings on and small black slip-on shoes. He took a moment to admire how small her feet were.
He moved his eyes back up, taking in her fine, rounded figure. She would be fun.
They reached the top of the stairs where two opposing doors blocked any further ascension. She stood in front of the door to the right, flipped the bolt latch and swung the thin, wooden door open.
He was kissing her before the door closed behind them.
* * *
“Blimey, Abby, what were you thinking?” She heard the anxious voice of her friend and across-the-hall neighbor, Carol, and felt small, thin hands shaking her lightly. She became aware of her surroundings and sat up abruptly in bed, gazing all around her, clutching the sheet to her chest to hide her nudity.
Carol took a step back, her eyes wide. “You…you slept...Abby, the mistress is very upset with you! You can’t just decide to come to bed and not finish your duties for the night. Don’t you know that makes all of us look bad? Plus, we had to finish the nightly chores because we couldn’t find you. We don’t want more work because of your darned lazy behind! What were you thinking just walking out like that?”
“I…Carol, you saw me leaving?”
“Not me. Someone else, said you was leavin’ the party early last night.”
“Why…why didn’t anyone check up here?”
“Why in heaven’s name would we check up here? No one has ever left their duties to go to bed, especially without telling anyone.”
Abigail suddenly realized that she could not use Lord Montgomery as a witness to her whereabouts. He was gone. Their actions were reprehensible. She could no more expose the lord as she could herself. She would be dismissed. Lord Montgomery would not stand up for her, she was certain of that.
“What…what’s going to happen to me?”
Carol shook her head. “You best be gettin’ dressed right now, missy, and get your tail downstairs to talk to mistress right away! I know she is anxious to know where you are.”
“She has been looking for me?”
“When you didn’t show up last night for the nightly chores, Jackson sent a note up to the mistress that you had gone missing. She said to wait till this mornin’ and if you were still nowhere to be found, they would send word. But ‘ere you are! You been here all night, I suppose.”
“Yes.” Abigail wanted to get dressed but she didn’t even have undergarments on. She was not about to step out from behind the sheet with Carol standing there.
“Well, you is in trouble now, Missy. You need to be gettin’ dressed right now.”
“I will if you just leave me for a moment, Carol.” Abigail tried not to sound snappy but she was worried, anxious and cold. She wanted to clean up, get dressed and go downstairs to explain to the mistress what happened.
She would say she had a sudden attack of light-headedness and pain and that she immediately went to lie down. She would say that she had been in so much pain, she had no time to find Jackson and tell him of her intentions, and finally, she would say that she had never intended to rest for so long and that she was very sorry for shirking her duties the night before. If that didn’t keep her in the mistress’s good graces, she didn’t know what would.
She was disappointed in herself. She should have known that Lord Montgomery had only been in it for his own pleasure. Her safety and security were the last things on his mind.
She would never forget him, Lord Abraham Montgomery. The man she was sure could charm the richest man out of all of his wealth.
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“Are you jealous, Mr. William Montgomery?” She teased.
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CHAPTER FIVE
BLINDED BY LOVE
William had the same disoriented feeling Abigail had when he woke up the next morning. For him, it was because he was not in his comfortable bed. Why he had chosen not to just go to bed was beyond his comprehension. He and Liza had not shared a room or a bed in over two years. He sometimes wondered why the woman never requested intimacy with him, when otherwise she doted on his every word.
No matter where he slept, it wouldn’t have made any difference to William, if she’d heard him come in the night before.
His head swimming, he sat up and groaned loudly. According to the large clock to his right, he’d only been home for about two hours anyway. He put his head in his hands and tried to remember as much as he
could from the night before. The memories returned slowly.
Abigail. The young maid with the firm and curvy body, the big eyes and the pretty Irish lips he’d thoroughly enjoyed kissing. Perhaps he would return to the Worthington’s at some point to seek them out once more.
He looked up as the door was thrown open. Liza’s worried face appeared as she looked around the room. She spotted William and instant relief flooded her features.
“There you are, husband! I feared the worst, I truly did!”
She rushed into the room and put her arms around his shoulders, pressing her breasts against his face. He found himself strangely aroused and repulsed at the same time. He jerked his head away from her.
“Why are you wearing that? You look like you are going to a party!” He eyed her low-cut bodice and tightly cinched waist. She had curves, too. He hadn’t remembered that.
Liza looked down at her dress. Her face moved through several emotions before she spoke. She spun in a circle. “Do you like it? I am going to a party actually. My cousin Darla has invited me to go to a luncheon with her today. A lady’s tea, you know with cookies and pastries and…”
“Good God, woman! I know what a luncheon is! I am not a buffoon.”
Liza looked at him with an open, innocent face. “Oh, I was not implying…”
“Whatever the case may be, you should wear a shawl. That dress exposes your body to any man who might be looking.”
Liza pushed the tip of her tongue out between her teeth when she smiled. “Are you jealous, Mr. William Montgomery?” She teased.
He stood up, lowered his head and growled, “I am very tired. I have no more time for this banter.”
Liza put her hand on his arm to stop him from leaving. He tried not to notice how small and frail her hand looked and how small and delicate she was. He had the impression that a strong breeze might lift her and blow her away. He, himself, was a large and muscular man. He felt like if he touched her, she would break.