Harrison’s attempt at lightening the mood clearly fell flat because Maddie turned and pinned him with a hard stare. “This is serious. You left for three years without a word and only returned when your father died. If we want this marriage to work, then we must be honest with one another.”
Though she was gorgeous when she was angry, and his cock had definitely taken notice, he nodded once. “You’re right. Forgive me.” He settled her on his chest again, kissing the top of her head.
“You should have talked to me about it. I might have changed my mind. Indeed, I did change my mind.” She indicated the two of them sitting in the tub.
“But only after some time apart. Who knows? Maybe we both needed it, to grow up, then reconnect. When I left, I honestly never thought I had a chance with you.”
“Nevertheless, between leaving three years ago and scheming for this house party, it feels as if you are making decisions without consulting me.”
Fair point, though at the time, it seemed he had no choice. “I’ll try to be better.”
“I am serious, Harrison. You know how I hate to be surprised.”
“I am well aware. You have my word it won’t happen again.”
She relaxed. “You said there were two reasons why you left.”
“Ah. The second reason was my father.” He stroked her arms with his fingertips, enjoying the goose bumps that pebbled on her skin following his touch. “I came home early that night, much earlier than expected. Mother and Thomas were still at the ball, but Winthrop had stayed here. When I rushed in, looking for the most expensive bottle of spirits I could find, I discovered my father taking advantage of a maid on the sofa.” Harrison could still see his father’s pale backside and the maid’s pinched expression, as if she were in pain but daren’t say anything.
Maddie gasped, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. “That’s terrible. I had no idea he was mistreating your staff like that.”
“Neither did I.” He swallowed thickly. “When I confronted him, he told me to mind my own business, that no one was being hurt. I can only assume he convinced himself that the maids somehow enjoyed it. But then, he never could admit wrongdoing, so why would this be any different?”
“What a horrible man.” She grabbed his right hand and threaded their fingers together. “Those poor girls.”
“Exactly. I had to do something, so the next morning I contacted the police. They came, spoke to my father alone and left. As far as I know, they never talked to the maids.”
“No doubt he scared the girls into not talking or reporting it. He probably paid off the officers who came to investigate, too.”
“Yes, that’s what I assumed as well.” He exhaled and shook his head. “As soon as the police left, he started in on me. Told me I was a disgrace, a wastrel, and he never wanted to see me again. There was no reason to stay after that.”
“I’m sorry. You deserved a better father.”
He squeezed her in gratitude. “The maids deserved a better employer. Believe me, I had a long talk with the housekeeper before I went.”
“Did she know?”
“She claimed not to be aware of what my father was doing. Anyway, I wrote a note of warning and asked her to show it to all the female employees, present and future. I’ve always wished I could have done more.”
“Do you think your mother or brother had any idea?”
“I’ve always wondered. Mother never stood up to Winthrop over anything and Thomas was the golden boy, the heir apparent and all that. If Thomas did know, there’s every chance he’d stay quiet to protect his interests.”
Which was why Harrison felt no remorse whatsoever about ruining every member of his family. He would take everything they had, from the house to the company. And it would happen in a matter of weeks.
He hadn’t told Maddie about his plans. She was light and sunshine, kindness and generosity. The Archers were the complete opposite of her, himself included. No matter what, he had to shield her from his family and their destructive influence. He would deal with them on his own, swiftly and completely, and Maddie could focus on her tournament.
The last thing he wanted was for her to worry or get distracted right before Nationals. He’d already upended her life. How could he compound it by bringing his family troubles to her doorstep just as she was about to compete in the biggest tournament of her life?
He’d spare her anything, if possible. He loved Maddie beyond measure, beyond reason. While she’d never love him as deeply in return, he hoped she developed feelings for him someday, feelings beyond lust and desire. He wanted to mean more to her than a childhood friend, the man who’d compromised her into marriage.
He wanted to mean everything.
She swished her feet in the water, regaining his attention. “I hate the idea of any woman who suffered his attentions still living in your family’s house, even though he is gone. I can only imagine how traumatic it must be for them.”
Harrison frowned. He hadn’t considered that. Furthermore, he hadn’t thought about the future of the staff once the Archers were bankrupted. “I was thinking of renting a house in the city. We could offer them a change of employment, if they wish.”
She angled away to see his face. “I thought you wanted to return to Paris.”
“We could live in both places.”
“You wish to reside in the same city as your family? I thought the whole point was to live far away from them.”
No use addressing it now, but the Archers wouldn’t be able to afford New York much longer. Furthermore, he needed to remain in the city to complete the takeover of Archer Industries.
He dropped a kiss on the back of her head. “We may live wherever you like, but I’ll need to go back and forth to Manhattan for some business matters. You could stay here and concentrate on your tennis while I’m gone.”
“I don’t care for your making these decisions without me. You haven’t asked me what I’d like to do.”
“What would you like to do?”
“Come with you.”
How could he complain? He’d have access to her almost anytime he liked while he bankrupted his family. “As soon as I rent a place, I’ll send for you.”
“No need for that. We can stay at my parents’ house, at least until Nationals. They’ll remain here for the summer, so the house is just sitting empty.”
“Good idea.”
Done with talking, he let his hand slip below the water, his fingers sliding into her folds. She inhaled sharply and threw her head back, conveniently exposing her neck for his mouth. He tasted her smooth skin with his lips and tongue, certain he’d never get enough. She squirmed against his groin and his cock swelled, the stupid organ not realizing she would be too sore to go again tonight. That was perfect, though, because he wanted to feel her climax on his tongue one more time.
He stood and lifted her out of the tub, water cascading all around them. “I like this compromise, this give-and-take in our marriage. And right now, wife, I’m in the mood to give.”
New York City
Eighty-Second Street and Fifth Avenue
Maddie was unpacking in her room when Preston and Kit were announced. She wasn’t surprised that Harrison’s friends had shown up this afternoon. They were likely worried she’d followed through on her threat to strangle her new husband last night after the wedding.
The impulse hadn’t lasted long. He’d quickly rid her of her anger . . . and her clothes.
Her lower half gave a sore but satisfied squeeze at the reminder.
After her tennis practice this morning, they had bid farewell to Maddie’s parents and returned to the city. Harrison was anxious to settle some “business matters” here, though he hadn’t explained them other than to say it was about his trust fund. Fortunately, Maddie’s tennis coach was amenable to coming back as well, so her practices would continue uninterrupted. With Nationals just weeks away, there wasn’t a moment to lose.
By the time she made it downstairs, the three men were in the smoking room, a cloud of cigar smoke hanging in the air.
“There she is,” Kit said, putting down his cigar and rising. “You let your husband live, I see.”
“The day is still young.” She let him kiss her cheek, then turned to their other friend. “Hello, Preston. We missed you in Newport.”
If Kit was the life of every party, Preston Clarke was the organizer of said party. He was a planner and a builder, a force of nature. Using money he inherited from his grandmother, Preston was currently reshaping the Manhattan skyline, much to his parents’ disapproval.
Tall with coal-black hair, Preston towered over her as he kissed her cheek. “If I had known there was going to be a wedding, I would have found the time. I hear it was quite the weekend up there, Mrs. Archer.”
Harrison took her hand and pulled her close. “You have no idea. There were games, Preston. Games.”
“As I recall you enjoyed some of those games.” She poked his arm.
Kit pointed at them, his gaze turning speculative as he retook his seat. “I knew something happened in that changing room.”
Maddie could feel heat working its way under her skin, along the back of her neck. “I’ll never tell.”
Preston motioned to the lit cigar in the crystal ashtray. “Will this bother you?”
“No,” she answered. “Besides, I don’t plan on staying long. I have some errands to run.”
Kit cleared his throat and exchanged a strange look with Harrison. “Like visiting friends?”
She frowned. “I need to order a few things from Lord and Taylor’s, if you must know. But now I have to wonder why you are asking.”
The mood in the room shifted, growing serious, and Kit and Preston turned to Harrison, as if waiting for him to explain. Her husband grimaced. “Probably best if you wait a few weeks before going out on social calls, Mads.”
A sinking feeling settled in her stomach. “Why?”
“The last few days have caused a bit of a brouhaha.”
The duke. The scandal. How could she have forgotten? She had been living in a bubble of unexpected happiness when the rest of the city was agog at her shocking behavior. She slumped in her chair. “Oh.”
“It’s not so bad,” Kit rushed to say. “You know how these old biddies get.”
Preston blew out a stream of smoke. “Exactly. Don’t give it a second thought, Maddie.”
As if that was possible. “Was it mentioned in the morning papers?”
No one spoke for a long, terrifying moment, which was an answer in itself. She looked at her husband. “Have you seen it? What did they say?”
“You shouldn’t worry over it. Focus on tennis and getting settled here for the next few weeks.”
Wrong answer.
Without waiting for anyone to give her the truth, she went to the bell and rang.
“Maddie, please,” Harrison called after her. “Why do you care what anyone thinks?”
She ignored him and waited at the door. A footman appeared seconds later. “William, please bring me the morning papers.”
The footman cast a nervous glance across the room at Harrison. Had her husband given orders to keep the papers away from her? She moved to block the footman’s view of the room. “William, the papers. Now, please.”
When she returned to her seat, the men were watching her warily. “Perhaps we should go,” Preston said cautiously to Kit, “and leave the two lovebirds alone.”
“Stay where you are,” Maddie ordered. “If anyone is leaving, it’s me.”
“Since when do you pay attention to the gossip columns?” Harrison asked. “New York society means nothing outside these twenty or thirty blocks on the island.”
Not true—and he knew it. Otherwise, why try and hide the papers from her?
William returned with an armful of newsprint. He handed the stack to Maddie, then gave Harrison a glance that looked suspiciously like an apology. Maddie couldn’t worry about her husband’s high-handedness at the moment. She had bigger worries, like what was being said about her all over town.
She flipped to the “Town Talk” column, assuming it would be the worst of the lot.
NEWPORT SURPRISE WEDDING
A popular heiress has married the youngest Mr. A______ last evening in a private ceremony at the bride’s parents’ home. This comes as quite the surprise, as she made no secret of her pursuit of a certain duke this past spring, finally landing His Grace’s attentions and dashing hopes up and down Fifth Avenue.
From all reports, the future bride and groom spent their time on long walks and swims alone at night, forgetting, one supposes, that she had accepted the duke’s proposal just hours before. Perhaps this second son of a venerable Manhattan family tired of trying to earn a fortune and decided to marry one instead. We only hope this tainted brush does not paint an unflattering picture of New York’s girls across the pond.
Mortification roasted her from the inside. Of course the column painted her as a floozy, skulking about the Newport evenings with Harrison and flaunting an affair under the duke’s nose. A “tainted brush.” Was that how everyone saw her now, as tainted?
You knew this would happen. Why are you even surprised?
Because the reality was far worse than her imagining. Her stomach cramped and she couldn’t move, hardly able to breathe. There was no point in running errands or paying social calls, going out to dinner or seeing a play. Until the next scandal came along, Maddie would be discussed and dissected from Thirty-Fourth to Eighty-Eighth streets. A cautionary tale mothers would tell their daughters for the next ten years.
Don’t be like that Webster girl, the one who was compromised and lost a duke.
“Fellows, if you’ll excuse us.” Harrison stubbed out his cigar and looked at his friends pointedly.
Kit and Preston offered hasty farewells and strode from the room. Maddie hardly noticed. She kept thinking about Harrison’s words in the gazebo, the prophetic promise he made about her and Lockwood.
I won’t let you marry him.
Why hadn’t she heeded those words? If she had, this could have been handled with more delicacy, quietly. But no, she allowed herself to be compromised and humiliated.
Suddenly, she was lifted up in strong arms, carried to the sofa and placed on Harrison’s lap as he sat. The warmth of his body surrounded her as he nestled her into the cradle of his arms, and she pressed her face to his throat. He smelled like cigars and leather. “I am not sorry we are married,” he whispered into her hair. “But I am sorry that anyone would dare speak ill of you because of it.”
Sighing, she closed her eyes. “I’ve never been at the center of a scandal before. It feels awful, like I’ve disappointed everyone.” Lockwood, her parents, her friends . . . the guilt was threatening to crush her at the moment. “I wish I’d let you hide the papers from me.”
“I’ll always try to spare you any pain, if possible.”
She stared at the cold hearth, the unfairness of their world pressing down on her. “Men never suffer for their indiscretions. Society looks the other way, allowing them their mistresses and chorus girls. You are barely mentioned in that column and Lockwood is the poor man caught up in my schemes. I, on the other hand, am the jezebel. None of my friends will speak to me for a long time, let alone invite me anywhere, after this.”
He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her. “I’m sorry, Mads. I don’t know what else to say.”
“Why did you stay away so long?” If he’d come home sooner, then all of this might have been avoided.
“Because I wanted you too much, even when I thought there was no chance. It tore my heart out every day. I couldn’t be around you and not have you.”
“Harrison . . .” It was hard to remain upset with him when he confessed like that. “Stop being sweet when I am annoyed with you.”
A slight chuckle ruffled her hair. “I cannot help it. I’ve always hated to see you sad.”
“I hate being sad.”
“Just remember—they will move on in time. Another scandal will take the place of ours. This won’t last long. And it’ll be worth it in the end.”
“It will?”
“Of course. You’ll still be married to me.”
She rolled her eyes, even though he couldn’t see it. “You have a healthy opinion of yourself.”
“Hmm. As I recall, you were calling me a god this morning.”
Ignoring that comment, she put a hand on his shoulder and leaned back. “Aren’t you upset about the column, too? They practically labeled you a fortune hunter.”
“They can write whatever they wish, but that doesn’t mean it’s true. Unlike Lockwood, I don’t need your money.”
“Yes, but your mother was going to cut you off if you didn’t marry.”
“Hmm.”
A sinking feeling settled into her chest, below her ribs. Deep into her bones. This wasn’t adding up. What was he withholding from her? “Harrison?”
His chest expanded and fell as he exhaled. “I’m not broke . . . but the Archers are.”