Seductive Lies (Secret Lives Series) (2 page)

Harriet nodded
, seemingly lost for words. Pressing her lips together tightly, she nodded as tears began to well in her beautiful eyes.

He reached over and caressed her cheek. “I love you, Harriet.”

The words undid her. A dam of tears burst. She fell into his shoulders and wept. He held her then in the stillness of the night with the only sound of the waves rolling in and out.

“I love you, too, Arthur
.” She choked back her tears. “I’m so proud of you. You are going to do your family proud. It is only…I’m going to miss you so.”

“And you do not know where we stand. You and I. I have been so thoughtless, Harriet. I should have well proclaimed my feelings before this night. Be strong, my darling. I will return
.” He leaned down and brought her chin upward. He kissed her lips, gently this time. “I will return and make you my wife.”

She could do little to contain her shock. “Your wife? Oh, Arthur, whatever will your grandfather say?”

“It is not his consent I want to hear at this moment. Tell me, Harriet Burke, that you will be my wife. I know what is true. I want only to remember this feeling between us, how it feels to touch you, hold you…love you. Let me leave knowing you will be here for me when I return.”

“If
you want to know I love you and will wait for you forever, then go and hold no doubt I will be here,” she uttered before his mouth claimed hers once more.

Harriet
Burke paced the length of her bedchamber to look out the window. Ignoring the sunlight’s promise of a glorious day, her eyes fixated on the long, winding path up the entrance to Beebe Manor. It was empty. She closed her eyes and prayed the night before hadn’t been a dream.

Unlatching the window, she opened it
, allowing the fragrance of the roses below to encompass the room. Since her grandfather’s death, the estate had fallen upon a financial strain. The once magnificently maintained grounds had fallen into a state of disrepair, which showed in the shabbiness of the lawn where now weeds had been allowed to run freely.

Beebe Manor was the only home she had ever known.
It was an older house, worn through the years where the aged bricks had been laid over a century ago. Ivy covered the front side of the entrance, with a small flower bed on either side of the path up to the front door. The manor was set off the lane, quite a distance from the ocean shore.

The long neglect was quite evident on one glance.
The impoverished estate cried for attention, except for her grandmother’s beloved garden. Harriet tried to give the flowers the care needed for the blooms to thrive. The garden gave great pleasure to her sickly grandmother.

Climbing white rose blossoms intertwined
, creating an arbor. Her grandmother loved roses and the garden abounded in the blooms. Complimented with asters, zinnias, and dahlias, the assortment gave the garden a brilliance of color. At the far end, a stone wall covered with sweet smelling Clematis flanked the gardens, with espaliered fruit trees completing the small landscape.

Harriet drew in a deep breath in an effort to calm her racing heart. The whole of her body trembled with anticipation. The remembrance of the night surged within her. Arthur loved her! Never had she experienced such joy
as when he uttered those words. Moreover, he wanted to marry her!

In his arms, Arthur pushed back any misgivings gnawing within her of their union. “Your uncle will have little choice in accepting my offer for your hand. Nothing will come between us.”

“What of your grandfather?”

Arthur smiled a devilish grin, which lent to erasing any lingering doubts she had about their marriage. “Grandfather trusts my judgment. You will see. My enlistment in the navy has given him hope of my redemption in becoming a true
Hammett and living up to his expectations. Lest I remind you that it was you that inspired me to seek honor and glory for my family. It is my duty as heir.”

Harriet accepted all Arthur said in the still of the night, but with the morning light
, doubts emerged. She was under no illusions. As heir to the Viscount of Daneford, a heavy burden lay on Arthur’s shoulders of respectability and responsibility. She doubted whether Lord Daneford would be as understanding of Arthur’s choice of bride as Arthur wanted her to believe, not with the scandal attached to her name.

It was said
that shortly after Harriet’s birth, her mother, Georgiana Burke, ran off with another man and left her infant daughter and husband. Her father called out the suspected scoundrel who whisked his wife away from her family. The ensuing duel resulted in the death of the Lord Meriwether Carlisle, brother to the Duke of Torridge. Rumors of the subsequent scandal haunted Harriet to this day.

Shortly after the incident, her father had been recalled to
His Majesty’s Army. He never returned. Harriet was only eight when her father was killed, serving under General Cornwallis in the Irish Rebellion.

Harriet had never known either of her parents. Her mother…the woman she had never known…abandoned her…

“Harriet! Harriet! Did you hear…?”

Harriet pivoted around to see Bessie, her cousin, burst
through the door. She stopped abruptly in front of Harriet and raised her eyebrow. “Why you look…quite…quite lovely this morning!”

Harriet walked away from the
window. Catching a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror, she smiled. She thought she looked quite elegant and ladylike in a sky-blue muslin dress. At least it was what she hoped. Much care had been given to her appearance this morn. Even her long honey-colored hair had been neatly braided in a coronet with a few tresses falling to frame her face.

“I have
taken a great deal of time to prepare for this day,” Harriet said, straightening out her skirt. “Do you like the blue? I have the green…”

“No, no. I would not change a thing. Although I imagine that Mother will not be happy. Do not let her see you if you
want to get a glimpse of the lieutenant…Arthur Hammett is coming here with his grandfather. Lord Daneford is coming!” Bessie exclaimed, quite out of breath. “Mother is all a dither. Father received a note early this morning, requesting an audience. It can mean only one thing. It has to be Clarissa. Mother has her up and readying. He was talking to her at length at the dance last week. You were there beside Clarissa…”

“I was. He seemed quite pleasant,” Harriet said smugly
, holding her secret for a moment longer. Bessie hadn’t a clue, but Harriet knew well Clarissa would have no doubt of whom Arthur came to call upon. Clarissa had helped cover for Harriet when she snuck out to see Arthur since Clarissa’s return from London a month ago.

“Whenever Mother heard that Lord Daneford had recalled Lieutenant
Hammett back to Ayercombe, Mother could not depart London quickly enough. It was always thought that he would be attached to His Grace’s, the Duke of Torridge, daughter, Lady Sophia. I thought Mother had overplayed her hand. Father said so. Father said that Lord Daneford called the young Arthur back only to reprimand him.” Bessie leaned toward Harriet. “It was said he had a fondness for indiscretions. Always getting into one scrape or another. Father said he would not be here for long, but Father was wrong. Why, Arthur never returned to London! Oh! The catch of the Season and he wasn’t even in London!”

“Bessie, you do not know what Lord Daneford is calling about this morning,” Harriet cautioned her impetuous cousin. “Neither should Aunt
Constance…”

“It has to be,” Bessie interrupted once more. “The young lord is rumored to be set to leave for his ship assignment in Portsmouth. There is no other reason to call upon us this day unless he wants everything set before he
goes into war. He must be so in love. Like King Arthur and Genevieve!”

“Oh, Heavens, Bessie!” Harriet giggled. “I know you so love carrying around your books, but perhaps you might try reading them. I would not compare lovers to Arthur and Genevieve. Genevieve betrayed Arthur, you realize, with Sir Lancelot.
It was Genevieve and Lancelot’s love affair which inspires you, but ended so tragically.”

Bessie shrugged and paid Harriet no mind. Instead
, she pointed to the window. “Oh, look! I see the carriage! He has come!” Bessie cried and turned to Harriet. “Laugh at me now, but wait and see that I am right.”

Harriet glanced out the window. In the brilliance of the morn, a dark coach bearing the crest of the Daneford family rode up the winding path. Her heart sang!
 He had come!

Harriet stared at the carriage until it turned out of sight
, having continued on to the front entrance.

“You are a strange one, Harriet. Why
, you haven’t even asked…”

Harriet wasn’t listening. She had long learned that Bessie had no need for interaction in a conversation. Doing little to suppress her elation at the carriage
’s appearance, Harriet disappeared out of her room and into the corridor.

A ripple of excitement flowed through Harriet as she joined Clarissa at the top of the stairs. A quick glance told Harriet that Clarissa had dressed in accordance with her mother’s wishes. Clarissa wore a close-fitting taffeta with a low neckline gown with a short petticoat of white linen underneath. The height of fashion, Harriet was certain, except the pale yellow of the taffeta seemed to swallow Clarissa’s features. The poor thing would have been better suited in a rose shade.

Clarissa gave no thought to her appearance. She hurriedly gestured for Harriet to come closer.

“Oh, Harriet, he has come as you said! My heart was beating so hard I feared Mother would hear it. She told me to wait here until called. I could not tell her it was not I. Oh, but it is so wonderful. I’m so happy for you.”

Harriet said nothing. Her attention focused on the guests Baine, their butler, showed into the foyer. Accepting their hats and gloves, Baine led them down the foyer to Uncle Walter’s study.

Harriet had met the elder gentlemen at a few social events, but never had exchanged more than a few polite pleasantries. A tall man only slightly shorter th
an his grandson, Lord Frederick, Viscount of Daneford, looked quite distinguished given the early morning hour. Dressed quite formally in a black waistcoat and pants, he carried himself with a dignity that carried a purpose. Lord Daneford wasted no time in following Baine, whereas Arthur lingered a moment.

Looking upward, his eyes caught Harriet’s and did not waver. Her heart fluttered. Handsome. Ever so handsome with a winning smile.
His light brown hair cut short was just long enough to curl at its ends. His blue eyes glittered up at her. He came in his full-dress uniform of a Royal Navy officer, a dark blue frock coat with shining brass buttons over a white buttoned-down vest covered with a dark blue sash. A pair of shiny black Hessians hugged his lean calves. Quite a dashing figure, certainly exuding his masculinity.

He winked at her and a wave of excited expectancy surged through her. The whole of her being radiated with happiness as she watched him disappear into the study.

An eternity passed before Harriet was called in
to the drawing room. She calmed her racing heart before she entered into the overly quiet room enveloped in an uncomfortable stillness. Immediately, she felt the occupants’ eyes turn to her, watching her every move. She glanced at her aunt and uncle. There was no mistaking the shock of Lieutenant Hammett’s proposal worn on their faces.

Her aunt greeted her with a blank smile. Harriet knew her aunt well
, even to recognize her attempt to hide her irritation. Harriet returned the smile with a tentative one of her own. Anxiety riddled Harriet until Arthur gestured for her to sit in a highback chair across from his grandfather.

Arthur
needed not say a word. It was written on his face. Happiness surged once more within her. In a dreamlike state, she sat. Arthur found his place behind her, laying his hand softly on her shoulder in a reassuring manner.

“I will admit to being quite shocked this morning, Miss
Burke, when Arthur announced his intention. Took us all by surprise,” Lord Daneford said. His solemn expression betrayed none of his emotions. He cast an appraising eye over her, and then added, “A pleasant surprise.”

“Thank you, my lord,” Harriet replied, wishing desperately to come up with some semblance of a response that reflected the grace and poise of a lady in her position would demand. Instead, she smiled demurely.

“I found I could not leave without making my intentions official,” Arthur said. “I regret only that I have to leave so swiftly, but I’m expected in Portsmouth. I am certain all the arrangements can be seen to in a timely fashion before my return.”

“I believe we have come to an understanding,” Lord Daneford said, looking straight at Harriet’s uncle.

“But of course.” Her uncle nodded his head in agreement. “Harriet is indeed a fortunate girl.”

“If all the formalities are dispensed with, then our marriage can take place swiftly when I return,” Arthur reiterated.

“Lieutenant Daneford, do not be concerned. Harriet will be presentable. How could she not with your grandfather’s kind offer?” her aunt addressed Arthur. “Harriet will have the most successful debut into Society under your aunt’s attention.”