The Ideal Wife by Mary Balogh

Author:Mary Balogh
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
ISBN: 9780440337874
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2008-06-23T16:00:00+00:00

LORD SEVERN CALLED on his mother before returning home to change for dinner. It had been a long day, he reflected as his mother’s butler preceded him to the door of her sitting room. He had had luncheon at White’s, read the papers there for a while, having recalled that he had not had a chance to read at breakfast, and joined a few acquaintances in a walk to Tattersall’s, though he had no present interest in buying any horses.

How long had he been married? he thought with a frown. Three days? Could it be that short a time? Had he really known Abby for less than a week? And was he already losing interest in his typical bachelor pursuits?

She was not really dominating his life, was she? How had Gerald put it? Did she really have him wrapped around her finger?

No, of course she did not. It was just that by some good fortune he had chosen a bride with a character that interested and amused him. And with a person that even more unexpectedly attracted him.

“Good afternoon, Mama,” he said after he had been announced, taking both her hands in his and kissing her offered cheek. “Connie? How has your day been?”

“Busy,” his mother said.

He smiled at his sister. “I noticed you dancing twice with Darlington last evening, Connie,” he said. “I thought that came to an end last year. Is there still a spark there?”

“I am to be one of his sister’s party to Vauxhall next week,” she said. “If our family is still being received by then, that is.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Is there any reason why we would not be?” he asked.

“Miles,” his mother said, “I was prepared to keep an open mind, dear, because the deed was done already and there was no choice but to make the best of the matter. But you really must take your wife in hand before it is too late—if it is not too late already.”

Lord Severn clasped his hands behind his back.

“What has Abby done that is so bad?” he said.

“She was already under a cloud,” she said, “after word of her background leaked out at Lady Trevor’s last evening. I chose the places we should visit with great care this afternoon and instructed Abigail to let me do the talking. I told her that both Constance and I would give her our full support.”

“Under a cloud, Mama?” he said quietly. “I think not. It is no crime, nor disgrace either, to be poor and to work for an honest living.”

“She is already influencing you,” Lady Ripley said in some distress. “Miles, she told a large group of the most influential ladies at Lady Mulligan’s that her employer’s wife would have smashed a chamber pot over her husband’s head if she had known the truth about him and the governess. Fortunately—very fortunately—Lady Murtry laughed, and so everyone else considered the story enormously witty. The ladies at Mrs. Reese’s were not amused. I was very vexed. I had pointedly instructed Abigail on the way there not to speak in such a vulgar fashion.

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