His Christmas Angel (A Regency Holiday Romance Book 8) (6 page)

The arrangements had been made.

Ann sat in the bedchamber she had moved to after her first night at Evesham House. She couldn’t think to keep him out of his bedchamber forever, and so she had moved her things to the bedroom allocated to the lady of the house. She had come to Evesham House with nothing and now, she had more things than she had ever possessed before in her life. It was a whole new world, and it frightened her just a little.

Clarence’s house was much more relaxed than Broadway House had been. He never yelled at the servants or stomped through the house, or slammed doors when he was angry.

He was a veritable angel.

Clarence’s mother had brought her a trunk filled with frocks of every occasion, and she had even been generous enough to loan her a few jewels. Once Ginny had gotten wind of her plight, she had come to Evesham House bearing gifts as well—and Valentina had contributed a few things too. All in all, she was more than ready for her married life to Clarence and while she waited for her new trousseau to be made, she wouldn’t lack for clothing.

She stood up, and looked over at the dress she had laid out on her bed to don later. It was her wedding dress. The pretty shade of pink wasn’t something she would have chosen, but Clarence’s mother had given it to her with the understanding that she would wear it to marry Clarence, and she didn’t want to let her down. She had to start off right, and that meant keeping Clarence’s mother happy with her. She would have preferred the violet blue dress that Ginny had gifted to her, and yet, she didn’t want to invoke the Duchess’s wrath. If she didn’t start off on the right foot with her future mother-in-law it could lead to catastrophe. When it came right down to it, Clarence was terribly fond of his mother—and so her opinion held weight with him, no matter what he said to the contrary.

“Ann.” It was Clarence. He was knocking on the door that she kept locked. The door that led into his bedchamber.

She resisted the urge to unlock it. She had told him it would remain locked until their wedding night. Even then, she didn’t know if she wanted to move all of her things into his bedchamber. He was under the impression that she would sleep with him every night, and stay in his bedchamber and give up this one, but she didn’t know if she could do it. Her parents had always maintained separate rooms.

“Yes,” she said, hesitantly moving to the door. She stopped just shy of opening it up, and stood listening to whatever else he had to say.

He sighed heavily. “I…I wanted to see you before I went off to have a ride in Hyde Park.”

“I…well, we shall see each other when you return.” She was about to turn around, thinking that was the end of it when she heard him clear his throat nervously. He obviously wasn’t done. He had more to say, and she wasn’t entirely certain she was ready to hear it.

“I had something I wanted to give you. And you shall need it before the ceremony.”

She hesitated, and then relented. He would keep beseeching her until she gave in. Sighing, she walked over to her escritoire, and retrieved the key. Walking back over to the door, she slid the key into the lock, and unlocked it. Opening the door, she was met with his pleasant visage. He smiled at her, and winked. He held a box that looked as if it contained jewelry. Her heart raced with excitement.

Handing it to her, she opened it up, and settled her gaze on a parure of emeralds and diamonds. Oh, what startling beauty. She had never seen anything so exquisite before in her life. It was a gift fit for Queen. She licked her lips. This was a fine gift. Finer than anything she had ever been given before. She felt a little faint. She couldn’t fathom how much it had cost him. Indeed, it was a treasure. A treasure she would cherish for the rest of her life. She felt a little teary eyed over it all. He truly did love her, and he had such a generous soul.

“I heard that you liked emeralds…and they are from Garrard,” he said softly. Her eyes settled on the beautiful and rather large earrings that matched the necklace. She had always loved earrings. Then, she swept her gaze over the matching tiara, the two bracelets, the brooch, the ring and a stomacher. She let out a heavenly sigh. She felt lavished, both with love and with treasures. Her mother had never received such a fine gift from her father—he had been far too tight with his money. “And now,” he continued softly,”…well, now you shall have something to wear to all of the balls we shall be invited to, not to mention, if we go to the Ballet or Opera. Grandmamma loves her Opera—and she is bound to invite us to come with her at some point in time.”

“Oh, thank you, Clarence. Thank you so much. This is…this is so lovely. They will always remind me of your beautiful eyes. I always wanted blue or green eyes, and instead, I got stuck with plain old brown,” she said, her voice breaking up, and she could feel her eyes welling with tears. “I…I can’t ever give you such a fine gift in return,” she whispered. “I have nothing for you, and I am not entirely certain I should accept this grand gift. You have already done so much for me. You have given me the world just by saying you would marry me. I should be giving you grand gifts. Not the other way around.”

He smiled tenderly at her. “You should have given me the chance to ask you. I…I would rather not have anyone else know that you asked me, Ann. It’s just not fitting for a woman to ask a man. As for the parure, I…I have always liked to give gifts. As you are about to become my Countess, this is a gift befitting of the occasion. Besides, I like seeing the recipient’s expression when they open their presents, and seeing your delighted expression just now, has given me extreme joy. And I love your beautiful brown eyes. There is nothing plain, or old about them. They are so dark, and so inviting. They certainly captured my interest. They are spellbinding, Ann.”

“My mama used to tell me that. She said I could entreat the bitterest of hearts with just one stare. Alas, it didn’t work with my hardhearted father. I do not deserve you, Clarence,” she said softly. “You are too good for me.” There was a reason so many other ladies around his age had pursued him relentlessly. They had seen that he was a gem and coveted that part of him.

“I can say the same thing about you,” he countered.

“No.” She carefully closed the lid on the parure, and walked back into her bedchamber to put it on her dressing table. He had followed her into her bedchamber. She sighed. “You are wrong in that assumption, my lord. I…oh, Clarence, I come to you as a pauper—and well, as I have said before—I do not deserve you—I couldn’t have wished for anything better, but I have done nothing to deserve you. You are the kindest, most generous, loving man I have ever known. I…I never dreamt that someone like you existed and yet, here you are. I…I can’t ever…I certainly do not deserve someone like you.”

“I suppose we shall agree to disagree on that point. But there was one thing I must ask of you—at the urging of both of my parents.”

She met his gaze, without looking away. Fear galloped through her. “Yes, Clarence?” Oh, dear God, let it be something she could give him.

“If I can’t have your love—yet, then, I want your loyalty. I know it should go without saying that I will have it, but I wanted to hear you give it to me privately without anyone present. I need to hear it, Ann. I hope you understand.”

Her heart broke. She couldn’t give him her love. She had never loved anyone before not that way, and while she was fond of him, she didn’t think it equated to the kind of love he felt for her. Thinking she was continuing to disappoint him so, made her feel absolutely wretched. She had become accustomed to that low feeling in the days since she had come to live with Clarence, and she didn’t think it would abandon her after they were made man and wife.

“I…I will always be faithful to you, Clarence. There will never be another man.”

“No…that isn’t what I meant. I know you wouldn’t do that, Ann. You are not that kind of a woman—what I meant…what I meant is that you will be loyal to me. My parents, they are a united front—they always have been. They never speak ill of each other in public…”

Wisely, she remained quiet. Gossip about his father’s affairs had been bandied about for years. She didn’t think mentioning them right now would be appropriate.

She reached for his hands. “I will be loyal to you, Clarence, and only you…forsaking all others,” she said softly. “We shall be united, and no one will ever be able to divide us. No man or woman, no member of our families, no one,” she said fervently. “I will adore you, Clarence. I will put you up on a pedestal. You will see. So help me God, you will see.” 

His eyes filled with intense emotion. “Thank you,” he rasped, lifting her hands to his lips, he brushed them lightly across her knuckles. She inhaled a sharp breath, as his lips touched her skin. “And now I part from you. Tiny, Lucky and I are going to go riding. Cassius said he might meet up with us in the Park. Are you quite certain you don’t want to come with us? We could have the barouche readied.”

“I don’t want to leave the house, Clarence. I feel safe here.”

“I shan’t be gone for long, Ann. And you will be safe here. The servants have been instructed not to allow anyone else into the house save for members of my family. The footman shan’t allow your father past the front door. They are brawny fellows, well suited for that task. The next time I touch you, will be the kiss that will seal our union and then, of course, we have tonight.” He winked devilishly at her, and she felt a thrill.

Her father might have tried to ruin her spirit and destroy her happiness, but it would be Clarence who would ruin her for all other men, for she didn’t think a better man walked God’s green Earth. 

She was blessed beyond compare.

*****

Clarence loved a good ride on Rotten Row.

If only Ann had agreed to come with them. He watched as Lucky and Tiny admired all of the ladies riding up and down the Avenue. Cassius waved to them, and rode toward them. Clarence smiled, and then stiffened in his saddle, his eyes descending upon Ann’s father.

Good God, why did he have to show his pugnacious face?

“Look sharp, mates, Ann’s father is riding straight for us,” he said, as Cass drew up alongside them.

Lucky and Tiny grinned. “We didn’t think we would find a fight on your wedding day, Clarence. But fortune has smiled upon us. We have been blessed. Why rush away? We should give the old boy exactly what he wants…if he is begging for a fight…why not give it to him? I, for one, would love a good little brawl.”

He chuckled. “I do not think that Lord Broadway fights the way you two like to fight.”

“Aye,” Tiny said, curling his lip. “He probably fights dirty. He looks like a real bloody toff. If you want, Clarence, I could make sure he had an accident, it would be no trouble at all.”

“No, Tiny. But thank you for the offer.”

Tiny nodded his head at him, and winked. “We’ll always have your back, mate.”

He groaned. Lord Broadway rode up to them, looking every bit the part of an inflated arse. The landau the Hardwicke Family usually rode in had been absent from Rotten Row for the last few days. Either they had sold it—or his wife refused to ride with him. Today, he rode with his son, James, Viscount Moreton.

“So have you finally come to your senses, pup? Have you decided to return my daughter to me? She isn’t yours, you know. She will never be yours. That little chit, is a faithless little bitch and the only person she is faithful to, is herself. You do not want that kind of trouble. Give her back to me and let her be my burden to carry. She’s a rotten piece of work that needs a strong hand to tame her, and Sir Wilfrid shall be able to take her into hand. He will beat the spirit right out of her.”

James nodded his pugnacious head, and gave them a preening smile.

“Want me to break their bloody big fat heads?” Tiny asked.

“Tiny,” Lucky warned.

“What? They do have big heads. Look at them. Their heads are almost too big for their skinny little bodies. It’s a like a great big pimple on their shoulders. I could pop those pimples. It might make a bit of a mess though.”

“Keep your guard dogs firmly on the lead, Lord Evesham,” Broadway said, looking a little warily at Tiny and Lucky. “I hope Ann realizes how low she has fallen. You Devilles, and your blasted relatives, the Lovetts, surround yourselves with mangy dogs—bloody rabble, that is what Lord Spaulding and Lord Prescott are. That one strapper there, is definitely a whoreson. I expect his mother was one experienced strumpet, and both of them are certainly beneath my touch.”  

He heard Tiny growl, and Lucky looked as if he wanted to blow Lord Broadway to kingdom come.

“Zounds, just let me have a few minutes along with this bloody toff, and I will soon sort him out,” Tiny said. “Gadzooks, so help me, I will.”

“That’s the best you could come up with? Why didn’t you use odds bodkins, too?” Lucky hissed.

Lord Broadway looked a little frightened at the prospect of Tiny’s threat. Clarence sighed, he wanted desperately to give Felix what he wanted, but at this point, he just wanted the scene Lord Broadway was causing to come to an end, people were starting to stop and stare at them.

“Lady Ann isn’t your daughter anymore, Lord Broadway. You do not deserve such a treasure. After today, she will be my wife. You will have to find another way to settle your debts, sir. Maybe…maybe Sir Wilfrid would take one of your other properties as a settlement—or…” he paused, “or you could always give him Lord Moreton.” He tipped his hat at them, before he turned his horse around, and rode back to Evesham House, with Tiny and Lucky by his side.