Tenacious Trents 02 - A Perfect Gentleman (37 page)

The sounds became clearer when Matthew opened
the door.

“She is my niece and I will say what happens
to her.”

“You are not in charge of her,
Stillwaite.”

“I will be.” A pistol fired and Matthew took
off down the hall. Grace could not remain in bed and await the
outcome. She slid into her slippers and followed Matthew. Elizabeth
and Matthew were rushing down the stairs when she reached the top
of the landing. Both held pistols.

Her uncle was standing in the middle of the
foyer waving a gun around. There was a hole in the ceiling. At last
John hadn’t been shot but was standing at the parlor door, a gun in
his hand and aimed at Uncle Henry.

“Put the gun away, Stillwaite,” Matthew said
in a calm, even tone.

“I will have what is mine.”

“None of this is yours,” Matthew reminded
him.

“It should be,” he shouted, red with rage.
“My brother is wasting good land while I have nothing.”

“You have a large estate in Kent.”

“That loadstone around my neck?” He spit. “It
costs more than it produces.”

Jordan Trent slipped in the front door, his
right eye swelling shut and discolored.”

“Sell it,” Mr. Trent suggested.

Stillwaite turned on him. “That is my
ancestry home. I will not sell my estate.”

“It is not entailed,” Matthew questioned.

“No,” his brother answered and pulled away
from the wall. “In fact, nothing he owns is entailed. I wrote to my
partners earlier in the week to dig up everything they could on
Stillwaite. The package was waiting for me when I returned this
evening.”

Jordan turned on Stillwaite. “Your home is
full of artwork, gold, jewels. Selling off half of your estate
would help see you out of debt.”

“Why should I? Those are mine!”

The man had lost his mind. He kept turning
circles in the foyer, stumbling this way and that. “Have you been
drinking, uncle.”

He wheeled and focused on Grace. “You! If you
would have done what you were told and married one of those blokes
I would not be in this mess.”

“It is a mess of your own making,” Jordan
Trent reminded him.

“Poor crops were not my fault.” The man’s
face was almost purple. Grace had never seen anything like it.

“But sinking into gambling to solve the
problem was.”

“There is nothing wrong with gambling.
Nothing I tell you.”

There was no reasoning with the man. Matthew
moved further down the steps. “So you would have your niece out of
the way, dead, so you don’t have to sell your estate and be able to
live in luxury.”

“Of course,” he shouted. “Don’t you
understand? It is my right! I am Viscount Stillwaite and no chit is
going to stand in my way of getting what I want.”

He lunged toward Grace but before anyone
could grab hold of him he slumped against the wall and stared up at
her. His arm dropped to the side and half of his face relaxed. It
was the oddest sight. His knees buckled and slid down the wall,
dropping to the floor until he collapsed. Matthew rushed forward
and rolled him over. Uncle’s eyes were upon, staring into
nothing.

Movement from the hall caught her eye and she
turned to find her father standing just outside of the foyer,
leaning heavily on his cane.

Perkins was at his side. “We heard the
commotion and your father wouldn’t remain in bed.”

Papa shook his head sadly then turned and
shuffled down the hall. It must pain him so to see his brother like
this but all Grace could feel was relief. It was over and hopefully
Uncle Stillwaite found whatever peace he was missing.

Elizabeth and Audrey stood back and stared at
Grace. They had not allowed her to even glance toward a mirror
since she woke this morning. Today was her wedding day and she
would become Mrs. Matthew Trent. It was hard to believe that just a
short week ago her life was in turmoil. Her father lay close to
death and her uncle was trying to kill her. But all of that was
behind her. There was nothing but a brilliant future ahead.

After Stillwaite’s collapse, Brachton saw
that Draker was shipped off to London to be dealt with and wrote a
letter explaining the events and Draker’s involvement as well as
Richards. Stillwaite’s body was sent to his estate in Kent and
Grace assumed he was buried in the family cemetery. Her father was
now Viscount Stillwaite since uncle had never married or produced
heirs, but from what she gathered he had no desire to take up
residence there and had every intention of selling it to pay off
the debts.

“Are you sure papa can go to the church?” She
asked again.

Elizabeth smiled indulgently. Jordan and John
have already seen to helping him in the carriage.

It was father who insisted on a church
wedding, though he relinquished the honor of walking her down the
aisle to Lord Crew. Papa was still recovering and could only walk a
few feet before he had to rest.

“It was kind of Lord Brachton to provide the
wedding breakfast but I don’t see that it is necessary. There will
be but a few of us. It isn’t like I am having a grand wedding in
London.”

Elizabeth and Audrey shared a look. It was
Audrey who spoke. “Did no one tell you?”

“Tell me what?” Don’t let anything go wrong.
Not today.

“Everyone feels horrible with how they
treated you and Vicar Trent. After his last sermon, those who were
present let it be known the truth.”

“Though some still thought it was wrong for
him to remain in your room,” Elizabeth interjected.

If they knew the half of it that night she
would be ruined, or what occurred the last night he was in the
house.

“And even though they haven’t been invited,
several asked to attend, sort of an apology,” Audrey added.

“Besides, your reputation is saved as well as
Mr. Trent’s, now that you are marrying.”

Elizabeth stepped aside and pulled a cover
from the mirror in her room. Audrey turned her so that she could
look. Grace gasped. Her hair was pulled away from her face, yet
ringlets fell down her back. Buds from late blooming roses were
pinned in her hair and she held a nosegay of fall wildflowers. Her
dress was simple, yet elegant, caressing her skin with its soft,
pale satin.

“Are you ready?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes.”

Lord Crew waited for them in the foyer and he
smiled up at Grace. “You are a beautiful bride.”

Heat infused her cheeks. “Thank you.”

Matthew paced outside the church. He couldn’t
breathe inside. He took deep breaths of fresh air to fill his
lungs.

“What if she changes her mind?”

Jordan laughed. “Grace will be here.”

“She was supposed to be here fifteen minutes
ago.”

“Is your future bride ever on time,” John
asked.

Matthew chuckled. “The first time I saw her
she was coming into church late. I had already started my
sermon.”

“When I saw her this morning she was just
coming in from the barn, muttering something about the cows and the
chickens not cooperating with her this morning.”

Matthew looked at John. “She was milking cows
and gathering eggs on her wedding day?”

John through his hands up defensively. “I
certainly don’t know how.”

“My first priority after marrying her will be
to hire servants.”

“I hope that isn’t your first priority,”
Jordan clapped him on the back as he walked by. “I know what mine
would be.”

Matthew laughed. Leave it to Jordan to focus
on the intimate side of marriage.

“Did you write Clay and Rose,” John
asked.

“Yes, but I knew neither one would have time
to make the trip.”

“Rose is going to be furious with you for
missing the wedding,” Jordan insisted.

“She still won’t let me forget and it has
been almost a year,” John grumbled. He looked up and met Matthew’s
eyes. “Did you tell Grace about Adele and Julia?”

His stomach tightened. He had completely
forgotten. Though he had plenty of opportunity, it never entered
his mind. “No. Do you think she will be angry?” He took a step
toward John. “Should I tell her before we wed so she has a chance
to back out?”

Jordan chuckled. “Her uncle was Stillwaite
and I am sure once Grace understands the circumstances, she will
not hold this against you.”

“Still, she should know.”

“And you will tell her, later,” Jordan
insisted as he turned and walked to the front of the church. He
returned a moment later. “Your bride has arrived.”

Matthew’s pulse increased and his palms began
to sweat. He hadn’t been this nervous giving his first sermon.

“Shall we?” John stood by the open side door.
Matthew stepped inside and made his way to the front of the church
and took up his place by Vicar Whitton. He had been visiting His
Grace when Elizabeth wrote of the news and offered his services to
perform the ceremony since the village was currently without a
vicar and even if they weren’t, Matthew couldn’t have very well
performed his own ceremony. The special license Lord Crew had been
able to obtain arrived a day earlier. Matthew had fretted, fearing
it wouldn’t arrive in time, but it had. Now all he had to do was
wait for his bride.

The doors opened and she stepped inside and
just as it had been the first Sunday, her smile lit the room and
all his thoughts fled with the exception of how much he loved
her.

More titles from Jane Charles

A Gentleman’s Guide to Once Upon a Time
Series

His Impetuous Debutante His Contrary Bride

His (Not so) Sensible Miss

The Wiggons’ School for Elegant Young Ladies
Series

To Walk in the Sun

To Love a Governess Series Sacked – Regency Short Handfasted – Regency Novella Ruined – Regency Short

Anthologies

A Summons from His Grace –
Compromised for Christmas

The Betting Season
– Landing a
Laird

A Season to Remember
– Devil in Her
Dreams

*All three of the Novellas appear in one
Compilation

Scots, Spies & Salacious Lies -
November, 2012

The Tenacious Trents

A Misguided Lord

A Perfect Gentleman

A Lass for Christmas (Novella) – December,
2012

About Jane

Jane Charles has lived in the Midwest her
entire life. As a child she would more likely be found outside with
a baseball than a book in her hand. In fact, Jane hated reading
until she was sixteen. Out of boredom on a long road trip she
borrowed her older sister’s historical romance and fell in love.
She long ago lost count of how many fiction novels she has read
over the years and her love for them never died. Along with romance
she has a passion for history and the two soon combined when she
penned her first historical romance. What turned into a hobby
became a passion, which has been fully supported by her husband,
three children and three cats.

Jane can be contacted at:
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http://www.JaneACharles.blogspot.com

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