Chapter17
Marriage might have been Drew’s original goal once but having Aurora as a mistress would do. He had everything he needed right here in this cozy house on Conduit Street. He’d lived for a week in a home that was warm and comfortable, and he wanted nothing more for his life.
A sort of wedded bliss had taken hold of him since he’d risen that first morning from Aurora’s bed and went downstairs to start his day. He no longer felt a driving need to be anything but himself. He was content in a way he had not been for years.
When he rose particularly early, he exercised Horse in the park and, after staying away a few hours to give Aurora time alone, he came back to the most gracious and welcoming lady that he silently called his own.
During the afternoons, he read in the library and, most important of all, kissed Aurora whenever she came near.
He almost didn’t mind that Aurora would never be his legal wife. She was to him in every other way that mattered already. They had a great deal in common and laughed together a lot. She made him feel good, and he hoped he’d done the same for her.
Currently, Aurora had gone out to see her latest client, Miss Mosby, taking the servant she’d brought into the house with her as an escort. Drew had offered to go with her, but she’d not wanted to delay him from his appointments.
He hadn’t the heart to tell her he had no appointments that day, no obligations to do anything for the next week or two. She did not realize he’d given up the house on Upper Brook Street, but he would have to tell her soon. So far, he’d made excuses for never leaving and she readily believed them all. But she was a bit distracted, caught up in her new enterprise. She’d become deeply involved in her new venture and spent much of her day out meeting new people in the hope of making a match for them.
She had a growing list of clients, some Drew had met or only seen from afar. He kept a distance from the women particularly, preferring they not discover he was not a husband yet.
But he was his own man now and cared little for the opinions of others in society. Or rather, he cared only that he had Aurora’s good opinion. He was her gentleman to order about when she ever cared to. They’d create a good life together, even if it would be a quieter one than he’d first imagined them sharing.
Today was another new and fresh beginning. A clean slate. A life now in progress again.
Before Aurora had turned his life upside down, Drew had started to feel he was merely going through the motions of living. But one of his favorite discoveries was that he liked never knowing what would happen from one day to the next. Aurora was a bit unpredictable.
Drew set the last of his new books into the shelves in the library and turned at hearing loud footsteps coming toward him. He was astonished to see a fellow lord walking through their town house unannounced.
“Scarsdale, what an unexpected—”
Drew ducked at the last second to avoid a wild swing aimed at his head. He backed away from the man quickly.
“Scarsdale!”
“How could you?” Scarsdale shouted, seemingly enraged, and followed to take a second swing at Drew’s head. Scarsdale again failed to hit him. “How could you shame her like this?”
Drew sighed. This was the first conversation he’d had about making Aurora his mistress. Scarsdale had liked her, and it was too much to expect that he wouldn’t be confronted by an angry former suitor of hers. But he’d not expected violence, least of all from Scarsdale. The man had seemed to treat all women as exchangeable commodities.
Drew maintained a distance between them, but it was clear the initial burst of anger had been as much a shock to Scarsdale as it was Drew. “You’re a fine one to talk. I know you pursued an affair last year with her, and she refused you.”
“And I accepted her decision. I made a mistake. And I have made amends ever since.” He pointed at Drew’s chest. “Clearly you are not a gentleman at all. You care nothing for what she wants.”
“She agreed to this,” Drew said quietly. “She was never offended. Not even for a moment has she expressed a doubt.”
Scarsdale shook his head violently. “But how could you? Don’t you understand what you have done?”
Drew had lost sleep over his decision, both before and after his offer had been made. “I perfectly understand the sacrifice she has made for me. I gave the matter a great deal of thought.”
He’d lost a lot of sleep over Aurora’s resistance to marriage, as well. But she was not resistant to his advances. She’d encouraged them. Wanted them. She wanted this life with him. Even if it was going to a scandalous one.
Scarsdale clenched his jaw and sucked in a deep breath. Drew prepared for more violence. However, Scarsdale slumped instead—all the fight draining out of him. He raked a hand through his hair. “What happens to her when you marry, eh? Will she be cast aside or hidden away while you live a proper life with your wife? I might not have asked her to marry me, but at least I wasn’t hunting for a bride at the same time.”
Drew had decided the path of his life when he’d first met Aurora. A wife, a family again. A son to inherit his title if he were lucky. But he’d changed his mind about all of that now. Happiness was more important to him than anything. With Aurora, whether she changed her mind about marriage or not, he would have it.
He’d prefer his decision not be widely gossiped about yet, but he would have to reassure Scarsdale for him to understand. “I will not marry.”
Not unless Aurora asked him to ask her. He’d do it in an instant. Being with her, just being able to hold her hand, had been the most satisfying moment of his life since coming to London. They had talked a lot over the years, and now they always could. Aurora suited him, and for no single reason he could ever put his finger on.
He just knew she was the one.
Scarsdale glared at him. “Everyone knows you’re on the hunt for a bride this season. And were the last season, too. She knows it as well.”