“We do?” Vanessa asked. No one had consulted her about the matter. That made her take yet another sip of the brandy. It truly was quite warming.
“Perfect!” Gwyn said. “You can question Lady Eustace on the way.”
“I’ll try,” Sheridan said. “But she’s not that forthcoming.”
“That’s true,” Vanessa said. “Not at’all.”
Joshua walked over to pour a glass of brandy himself.
“I thought you only drank rum,” Thorn said.
“I prefer rum, but any port in a storm, as we seafaring fellows like to say.” Joshua took a long swallow of the liquor.
“He should be careful,” Vanessa whispered to the dowager duchess, but it came out rather loud. “It’s best if you sip it.”
Joshua chuckled, but Sheridan stalked over to pick up Vanessa’s nearly empty glass. “How many ‘sips’ of this have you had?”
Vanessa tipped up her chin. “As many as I want, thank you very much.”
“You see what you started?” Sheridan told his mother.
“What I started! You’re the one who misled her about your intentions.”
“Yes,” Vanessa said, slurring the word a little. “Exactly. You misled her . . . me . . .” She waved her hand at his mother. “What she said.”
“Shall I go on?” Joshua asked.
“Certainly,” the dowager duchess said. “But I think I’ll take Vanessa upstairs to bed. It’s late, and I’m sure she’s quite tired.”
“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Gwyn murmured to Thorn.
Sheridan glared at them both. When the dowager duchess helped Vanessa to a stand, he started to follow the two women. “I’ll go with you.”
“No, indeed,” his mother said. “You need to be here for this discussion. I, on the other hand, do not. I’ll just make sure Vanessa is settled into bed, and I’ll return.”
“All right,” he said warily.
The last thing Vanessa saw before she was led away by the dowager duchess was Sheridan staring after her with concern on his face. It helped to assuage a tiny bit of her hurt feelings.
She and his mother, who kept her arm about Vanessa’s waist, climbed the stairs in silence. As soon as they entered Vanessa’s bedchamber, however, her mother-in-law released her to pull back the bed coverlet. Vanessa swayed a bit, but mostly she just wanted desperately to sleep.
The dowager duchess’s sharp intake of breath as she stared down at the bed seemed to preclude that happening. “Oh, dear, I’ll have to find your maid. Where is Bridget, my dear?”
“Upstairs, I think? I dismissed her for the evening.” Vanessa frowned. “Didn’t expect my husband to have a family meeting on our wedding night.”
Her mother-in-law smiled. “And we’re all sorry about that. We didn’t expect him to do so, either. But I gather he came down to get food and encountered Thorn. You know men and their appetites.” She walked over to unknot the belt of Sheridan’s banyan, which Vanessa still wore. “I’ll have to call for your maid. There’s blood on the sheet—I’m sure you don’t want to sleep on that.”
“Blood?” Vanessa closed her eyes. They were so heavy.
“Your virgin’s blood, dear girl,” her mother-in-law said as she came behind her to slip the banyan off her shoulders.
“Oh. Right. Bridget told me ’bout that.” She’d also said if there wasn’t any blood, there would be a Great To-do. “That’s . . . good, right?”
“It’s fine. But it means we do need these sheets changed. Wait here a moment. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.” The dowager duchess left to go out into the hall.
Vanessa was so tired. And the bed was right there. Why couldn’t she get into it again? Something about blood? P’raps she was confused. She honestly couldn’t remember.
She just climbed into bed, put her head on the pillow, and promptly fell asleep.
Chapter Sixteen
As soon as Vanessa and Mother had gone, Joshua had suggested they might all want some refreshment. He’d called for a servant, who’d gone off to fetch tea, wine, and ale, along with some cut-up oranges and apples. Sheridan and the rest of the family had made small talk while that was set up.
But now that the servants had left, Joshua took one last gulp of brandy and set down his glass. “Where were we?”
Sheridan settled back in his chair, glass of wine in his hand. “You were giving us your report. And suggesting that I question the good citizens of Sanforth.”
“If you’ll be gone, I can do it,” Heywood said.
“Will Cass be all right with that?” Joshua asked.
“Of course,” Heywood said. “The only reason she’s not here at present is . . . well, she sleeps a great deal.”
“Of course she does,” Joshua said. “She’s due any day. Am I right?”
Heywood chuckled. “You are indeed.”
It struck Sheridan that Vanessa might end up carrying his child soon. The thought of it gave him such pleasure he couldn’t even concentrate on what the others were saying. Of course, if she was so furious over his subterfuge that she refused to let him bed her again . . .
No, that wouldn’t happen. She had enjoyed their lovemaking. He was certain of it. She might be angry right now, but eventually she would see that what he’d done was for a good purpose.
Lying to her. Misleading her. She won’t see it the way you do.
“Gwyn?” Joshua said. “Why don’t you tell us what you’ve discovered about Lady Hornsby?”
Gwyn stirred more sugar into her tea. “I already told you.”
“Yes, but why don’t you tell the people in the room who are not married to you.”
“Oh. Of course.” She sighed. “I haven’t learned much, I’m afraid. I couldn’t get her alone, even at the wedding. She was decidedly uninterested in talking about anything but how perfect the ceremony was and how beautiful Vanessa looked.”
“My wife did look beautiful,” Sheridan said. “She always does.” When the others laughed, he said, “Well, it’s true.”
“And you aren’t smitten in the least,” Thorn said dryly.
Sheridan wasn’t smitten, damn it. He dared not be. That would be like laying his heart out on a table and waiting for life to slam it with a mallet.
Gwyn grinned. “Anyway, I plan to pay Lady Hornsby a call as soon as Joshua and I return to London, which won’t be long after Sheridan. With any luck, the countess won’t be gallivanting around the country somewhere. And you never know—she might have something to say about the other ladies that will prove useful.”
“One can always hope.” Joshua scanned the room. “Anything else to add? Because I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve covered everything I can think of.”
“Excellent!” Thorn said. “There’s still ham, bread, and cheese in the dining room. And tarts.”
Olivia’s eyes lit up. “Apple tarts?”
“What else?” Gwyn rose and waddled toward the door. “As long as there are also pickles, I am joining you.”