The Earl's Inconvenient Wife by Julia Justiss

Author:Julia Justiss
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-11-20T19:29:41+00:00

Chapter Twelve

The next morning, Giff sat in his office in the committee room at Parliament, the draft of the anti-slavery bill lying unseen on the table before him, while he read for a second time the letter he’d just received from his mother.

Dropping it, he wiped a hand across his face, his stomach churning with a familiar mix of resentment, the slow burn of anger, an ache of hurt—and a touch of guilt. Damn it, the work he was doing in Parliament was important and required all of his attention, especially now, when they were at a crucial point in pressing forward the passage of two major reform bills. Why did his mother have to choose this moment to increase the urgency of her harangues?

Before he could decide what to reply, if he replied, one of his fellow members walked into the room.

‘Jolly fine morning,’ Thomas Thetford said, giving Giff a slap on the back, entirely insensitive to the cloud of irritation enveloping him. ‘My, that chit you’ve been squiring about for your godmother—she’s as much a hoyden as you’ve said. Going to race in the park! And with Lord Alfred Wendemere!’ He chuckled. ‘Looking magnificent, of course, but you allow the girl a looser rein than I would.’

It took a moment for the words to penetrate Giff’s abstraction—and once they did, he couldn’t believe he’d heard correctly. ‘What did you say?’

Thetford peered down at him. ‘Lost in perusing the draft, were you? Brilliant piece of writing.’

‘Yes, yes,’ he returned impatiently, ‘but what was it you said about racing this morning?’

‘In Hyde Park,’ Thetford returned. ‘Not me. I was in Pendergrew’s tilbury. Meant to walk here this morning—lovely day—but he saw me and took me up.’

‘About Miss Lattimar!’

‘Ah, yes. Saw the Lattimar girl by Hyde Park Corner, challenging Wendemere. Impromptu match, I suppose, since I doubt you’d have encouraged it.’

‘Certainly not!’ Giff returned, indignant. ‘One would rather shoot Wendemere than permit him to ride with an innocent maid.’

‘Won’t comment on the “innocent” part. Looked like she was leading him on, to me. But they were about to race for certain.’ Thetford shook his head. ‘In high fettle, she was. Looked like one of the Furies, about to deliver vengeance!’

‘It’ll be nothing to what I’ll deliver, if she’s come to any harm,’ Giff muttered, rising. ‘Just for the record,’ he told Thetford as he shrugged into his coat, ‘I didn’t know and I don’t approve.’

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