“Yes, my lord.”
“Did you need something?”
“Just to say that Master Henry has been a bit fussy this evening and may be coming down with something. No fever, though, and he is sleeping peacefully. I wonder if he just misses his mama.”
“We all do,” Anthony said.
“Yes, my lord. If he does not improve on the morrow, consider summoning a doctor.”
“I will. I appreciate it, Mrs. Church. Please alert me if there is something I should worry about.”
“Yes, I will. Good night, my lord.”
After she left, Anthony turned to Lark. “Should I worry about Henry?”
Lark knew even less about children than Anthony did, but he said, “She said no fever.”
“Bless Mrs. Church. I don’t know what I would do without her.”
“I’m glad you have help.”
Anthony nodded.
“I admit, this situation is not what I imagined.”
“In what way?”
“Well, I only found out you were a father about eight days ago. This is a terrible situation. I don’t know. You truly cared about Matilda.”
“I did.”
“I feel like a heel for feeling jealous of that.” And he did. Clearly, Anthony had managed to have sex with his wife; the baby upstairs was proof of that. That she’d had Anthony’s attention—and his body—for the last year made Lark intensely jealous, even though he knew that was ridiculous, especially since he’d pretty much pushed Anthony at his wife. Not to mention she was no longer here.
“No, it…” Anthony looked right at Lark and met his gaze. “It wasn’t like that. I was fond of her, yes. But not in the way you’re implying.”
“Then explain it to me. Since we were not speaking much when you married, tell me about how it all happened.”
Anthony sighed. “Can I be frank?”
“I wish you would.”
“I had a thought to find some young miss in trouble. To find a bride who was already with child because of some foolish affair, and thus spare me from the duty. I met a woman in just such a state shortly after you left me, but I knew the math was too suspicious. That woman gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby five months ago, you see. It would have been suspect. I know, because she was a dear friend of Matilda’s. She moved in with her aunt in Shropshire.”
“All right. I suppose I am impressed you managed to follow through with your wife, then.”
“She knew.”
“What?”
“Matilda. She knew everything. I could not in good conscience go into a marriage under false pretenses. Shortly after we became engaged, I took her on a carriage ride in the park, and we managed to get far enough away from her chaperone that I just told her everything. That I am a man who prefers the company of other men, that I’d recently ended an affair with a man, and that I was not entirely confident I could be a full husband to her. She agreed to marry me anyway.”
“Why?” Lark asked. “That is, I mean no offense. You are obviously a handsome, wealthy, and accomplished man and a desirable husband, but I am curious.”
Anthony nodded. In the past, this would have earned Lark a snide comment, but Anthony just carried on speaking. “It seems that since her father passed, she has been under the care of her uncle. Said uncle is…not a good man.”
“Oh.”
“That is to say, he hit her. Never in a place where her bruises would be obvious to the public. And just before our wedding, she told me he’d gotten a look in his eye that made her feel acute danger, that he might try to take advantage of her. She felt trapped in that house where she felt she was in danger daily, so when I offered for her, she said yes immediately because she saw me as her escape. I think…that is, I was happy to help her, to provide a safe home for her. So we began our marriage with an understanding.”
