Chapter15
“I think that is everything,” Drew said as he added a pair of gloves to his smallest travel case and then glanced around his bedchamber in the house he’d leased in Upper Brook Street for two seasons, to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything important.
“Yes, my lord,” his valet of ten years, Potts, said as he also took stock of what possessions remained. The man picked up a woman’s silver hairbrush and hand mirror from the dressing table. “What of these?”
They had been Clare’s brush and mirror set. Drew had kept them with him since she’d died. Mementoes of their time together had always littered his room. But they had to go, along with anything else from that short time in his life that he’d been married. “Pack them into the boxes bound for Kent’s attics.”
“Of course, my lord,” Potts replied, adding the items to a growing pile of objects spread out on his bed. Keepsakes from his marriage had been a comfort once. But in moving to live with Aurora, Drew had decided to start afresh. There would be nothing of Clare’s coming with him. No reminders of Pip, either, though of those there were precious few. There was only the blanket he’d been wrapped in for so brief a time while Drew had held him.
That memory had to be packed like all the rest, but his son would never be forgotten.
It was time to move on with his life.
He’d gathered enough clothing for tonight and for the first few days of living in his new property with Aurora as his mistress. The rest of his clothes and property would be sent over the day after tomorrow. He wanted to be sure Aurora actually came to him before he made it known he was moving to live there, too. There was a small chance still that she’d change her mind and continue living with her cousins, where her reputation would remain intact. He still hoped, but that hope was quite small at this stage. She’d hardly hesitated to accept his scandalous proposition.
So, on the presumption that she really would throw her reputation to the wind to enjoy an intimate and prolonged affair with him, he was meeting her halfway and moving away from the heart of Mayfair. It hadn’t been his first choice to have a mistress, but Aurora was the only lady he would do it for. He was eager to see her again. It felt an eternity since he’d asked her to become his.
Drew had spent the days they’d been apart concluding some pressing business. He had also visited friends one last time without warning them of what he was about to do. He and Aurora were both about to scandalize society, likely offend many people in their lives, as well.
He glanced around and decided that he’d forgotten nothing he couldn’t live without, and let out a heavy sigh. The vast majority of the furnishings here belonged to the owner of the leased premises he’d been occupying anyway. There was actually very little furniture to his taste. The rooms were too dark and the furniture too heavy. That had not bothered him when he’d first arrived, since his spirits had been so low. Now though, he hoped for light and bright surroundings and laughter. He would not even return one last time to sweep the premises before he returned the key to the landlord.
He was done with being a grieving widow.
Drew had sent his regrets to Lord Wade and family about next week’s customary dinner, apologizing for not being available again without explaining what would keep him away yet another night. Wade knew nothing of his interest in Aurora yet, and Drew wasn’t sure how to explain it in a way his old friend could understand.
The viscount was a little cutting of gentlemen who engaged in prolonged romantic affairs outside of marriage, and lately had become fastidious about the proprieties. Likely on account of his young and impressionable sister-in-law. Lord Wade would certainly disapprove of Drew taking a mistress rather than the wife he’d come to London to find.
Drew wondered if he could ever expect to sit down to dinner with Lord Wade and his family again. He would miss their companionship, and wished they might know Aurora one day. Unfortunately, he could never invite them to Conduit Street to see his new home, or her. They would refuse to dine with a mistress and he understood why they would.
Yet Drew couldn’t live without Aurora in his life. A respectable life, a wife, and a need for an heir paled in comparison to the fierce longing he had for her. And it was not just passion alone that made him feel he needed to protect her, too.
She was hiding something from him. He was certain of that now, given her quick acceptance of his offer to become his mistress. Why would an otherwise sensible lady commit to a scandalous liaison instead of a respectable marriage like her cousins enjoyed?
He’d been asking himself that question all week.
Aurora was so set against marriage. Both to him and to anyone at all. If he could uncover why, and what had made her feel ill-suited for marriage, he would sleep better at night. Aurora had promised him she’d never been in love, married or committed a serious crime. She had laughed at the idea, but still had not given him another option that made more sense. But knowing even that much did not really give him any comfort. If possible, he still hoped to overcome her every objection in time.
No matter what happened after today, he still hoped they’d marry.
But he had given his promise not to propose again, and he would keep to his word until she was ready to discuss the matter honestly and openly.
“Is there anything else you need me to do, my lord?” Potts asked.
“No, thank you.” He smiled at the man he depended upon most to make his life run smoothly. “I believe that is everything packed away. I trust you will install the new servants in the house in good time.”
“Yes, my lord. The essentials—butler, cook, housekeeper, footman, and maid—are already going about their duties at the house now. I will arrive tomorrow no later than a quarter to two o’clock with the rest, after seeing your possessions sent off to the country, and will make ready to shave you as soon as I arrive.”
“Thank you.”
Potts inclined his head and disappeared into the adjoining room to continue packing Drew’s clothes into his trunks.
Drew tucked another present he’d bought Aurora yesterday into his coat pocket, picked up a traveling trunk by one handle and walked out, finally ready to close the door on his bedchamber and his past.
It was time to start over.
He couldn’t wait to see Aurora at the house he’d purchased for them. It wasn’t an overly large dwelling, but he thought that would be perfect for a couple who might rarely entertain in the foreseeable future. He imagined his name, and hers too, being struck from any number of guest lists once word of their arrangement spread. Drew had already sent his regrets for every invitation he’d received since Aurora had decided to become his.
Mingling wasn’t at all important to him anymore, especially when he’d no purpose in showing his face in public now. For these last two season, he had been invited for the sole intention of meeting unmarried daughters in search of a good match. He regretted very much that Aurora must suffer the cold shoulder from society. She liked people and parties much more than he had.