The Counterfeit Betrothal (16 page)

21

BARNETT and Mrs. Hastings reached the inn first. Discreet questioning of the owner of the Cat and Hound brought the welcome news that the persons they sought were still there. “If you will follow me,” the innkeeper said with a bow, “I shall take you to the parlor where your young friends are waiting.”

Grimly the two did as they were bid. Grimness, however, turned to astonishment as the door of the private parlor opened and they found themselves facing only Edward and Rosalind. “Where is my son?” Barnett demanded as soon as the innkeeper had left them alone.

“Where is Emmaline?” Mrs. Hastings demanded of
her
son. “Aren’t you eloping with her?”

Edward regarded the angry pair calmly. To Lord Barnett he said, holding out something to that gentleman, “You will find your son and Miss Delwyn down the hall. Third door on the right. Here is the key to that parlor.”

Without further explanation he waited for Lord Barnett to go and the gentleman did so with a bow to Mrs. Hastings. Edward then turned to Rosalind and, taking her hand, said with perfect
equanimity, “There is no elopement, Mama. I am, however, taking Miss Kirkwood tonight to stay with Aunt Theresa for a few weeks until I have come to terms with her father. You may as well know that we are going to be married.”

Mrs.
Hastings promptly fainted.

Lord Barnett, at precisely the same moment, was unlocking the door to the parlor that Edward Hastings had indicated. As he did so, he saw Sir Osbert and his wife Anna hurrying toward him. Without words they entered to find Emmaline and Jeremy at opposite sides of the room, refusing to look at one another. Bewildered, Sir Osbert said, “Where are young Hastings and Miss Kirkwood?”

“In the other parlor,” Lord Barnett answered curtly. Sir Osbert turned to go to them but Barnett stopped him. “In a moment,” he said. “First, I should like you to hear what I am going to say to Emmaline.” Moving to where she stood, he took her hands in his and said, “My dear child, I have come to tell you that I have changed my mind. You need not marry Jeremy. You have made me realize that I must not force him to the altar with my threats.”

As Emmaline tried to choke out a thank you, Sir Osbert strode into the center of the room, his cane all but forgotten as he demanded, “What the devil are you talking about, Gilbert? Of course they are to be married.”

Lord Barnett looked at his old friend and said heavily, “No. Your daughter was prepared to run off with young Hastings rather than do so.”

“What?” Sir Osbert demanded incredulously.

“You must have windmills in your head! Edward Hastings was eloping with Miss Kirkwood.”

As the two older men glared at one another Jeremy coughed discreetly, drawing their attention. “Actually,” he said hesitantly, “
I
was to elope with Miss Kirkwood. Both of us, it seems, realized our mistake, however, before committing such a folly.”

Sir Osbert’s face was gray as he turned to his daughter and said, “My poor Emmaline. I never meant this to happen to you. What a devil of a thing for you to face.”

Emmaline took his hand and forced herself to smile as she said, “It’s all right, Papa.”

“But why didn’t you tell me that matters had gone awry between you?” he asked in bewilderment.

“I thought you were still very ill,” she replied softly, “and I had no wish to distress you.”

As father and daughter embraced, Lord Barnett had the grace to look abashed as he turned to his son. “I am sorry, Jeremy,” he said with uncharacteristic gentleness. “In meaning the best for you, it seems I have only succeeded in making a muddle of everything. And in misjudging you. Mrs. Hastings has been giving me the sharp edge of her tongue, as we came here, telling me that you are far more of a man than I have ever given you credit for.”

Jeremy would have spoken then, but he was forestalled by the appearance of Mrs. Hastings with her son Edward and Rosalind. A trifle shakily Mrs. Hastings announced, “It appears that my son and Miss Kirkwood are soon to be betrothed.” Ignoring the hasty exclamations, she went on, “The three of us are leaving now to take Miss Kirkwood to my sister Theresa’s house where she will be staying until the wedding.”

Sir Osbert spoke blankly. “But Lady Kirkwood expects me to bring her back home tonight. She believes the two of them are eloping.”

“I am afraid it will not be possible for Miss Kirkwood to return home just yet,” Edward said grimly as he patted Rosalind’s hand reassuringly. “Not until her father and I have had a chance to speak and he listens to reason. I will not have Rosalind betrothed to anyone against her will.”

“Or kept from the betrothal against my will,” Rosalind added shyly.

Jeremy was the first to recover. With long strides he crossed the room and kissed Rosalind’s hand. “My warmest felicitations,” he told her. Then turning to Edward, he said severely, “You wretched fellow! And not a word of it to me except to pretend to aid me in this sham elopement. What the devil were you about, taking part in such nonsense?”

“You would not listen to reason,” Edward answered mildly. Then, looking past his friend he said, “Emmaline? Won’t you wish us well?”

Forcing a smile, she replied warmly, “Of course I shall. It has been my dearest wish to see Rosalind happy and I know that she will be with vou.” As she spoke Emmaline embraced her friend and added softly, “Now you need never be afraid of your parents or the Marquess of Alnwick again.” She would have pulled back then, but Rosalind held tightly on to her friend’s hands as she asked sternly, “And you? Have you and Jeremy worked matters out between you?”

Emmaline shook her head and would have denied it when she suddenly felt an arm go around her waist. From beside her she heard Jeremy’s voice reply smoothly, “Why, I don’t doubt our wedding will follow close upon the heels of your own. Unless, of course, my father can help me obtain a special license, in which case we will dance at yours as a married couple.”

In shock Emmaline tried to pull her hands free of Rosalind’s and her waist free of Jeremy’s imprisoning arm but neither would let go. Frantically she looked up at Jeremy, conscious that Rosalind’s eyes were dancing as she said, “I knew that if we tricked you, matters would work out between you. That is all Edward and I have stayed to hear.”

“But we aren’t going to be married,” Emmaline finally managed to protest.

“Of course we are,” Jeremy retorted sternly. Then, pulling her closer to him, he added to the others, a hint of laughter in his voice, “Don’t worry, I shall soon school her not to contradict me in front of my friends, shan’t I, my love?” Then he looked down at Emmaline with a warmth that threatened to shatter her completely.

Mrs. Hastings broke the silence that followed that outrageousness by saying firmly, “If the two of you wish to spend the rest of the night billing and cooing, that is up to you, but we must be on our way. Theresa is expecting us and I still have to dispatch Lady Kirkwood a note explaining what is afoot. I don’t doubt she’ll be angry but she is not such a nodcock as to cause a scandal when we have offered her a way out of it.”

The next few minutes were occupied with leave-taking and Emmaline tried to ignore the arm about her waist that did not once slacken. When the three had gone, however, it was time for Emmaline and Jeremy to face their fathers.

“What the devil is going on?” Lord Barnett demanded. “I have said you need not get married, Jeremy.”

“Unhand my daughter,” Sir Osbert said, restraining his temper with great effort. “She has already told us she does not wish to marry you.”

He would have said more had Anna not laid a hand on his arm and warned him with her eyes to be still. Meanwhile Emmaline could not bring herself to look at any of them and she tried instead to break free. “You heard my father, let me go,” she said, pounding her fists upon Jeremy’s chest.

Without effort he imprisoned her hands with one of his own, the other arm still tight about her waist. The laughter in his voice was even more pronounced as he said, “Oh, no, my little vixen, not until you set a date for our wedding.”

“I told you I won’t,” she retorted, looking up at Jeremy. “Have you forgotten what I said already?” Too late she realized her mistake as she felt herself go weak under his gaze.

A smile played about his lips as he replied coolly, “I have forgotten nothing.” As she colored he went on, “You said that you would not marry me because I was doing so at my father’s command. You said that if, instead, I was asking you to marry me of my own free will, you would do so with all your heart and love. Well? You do not see my father threatening me anymore. You do not see your father pressing for the match. Indeed, I think they are all but ready to hang me for suggesting such a thing.”

If Jeremy’s voice quivered with laughter, Osbert’s quivered with rage as he said, “Emmaline, you will not marry this fellow. I refuse to allow such a match to take place!”

Barnett’s voice was close behind as he said, “I warn you, Jeremy, if you try to force Emmaline to this match, which is so evidently distasteful to her, I shall cut you off without a penny!”

Jeremy let go Emmaline’s hands and tilted up her chin to make her meet his eyes, laughing outright as he said, “You see? I fear it is Gretna Green for us, after all. But at least now you cannot accuse me of motives other than love when I tell you that I mean to marry you.”

This time Emmaline did not try to keep from swaying against him as she grew weaker still under the warmth of his gaze. “Well?” he demanded impatiently. “Is it Gretna Green or do I carry you off to a room somewhere and keep you my prisoner until you do agree to marry me?”

In spite of herself, Emmaline laughed, oblivious to the expressions of outrage from behind them. “Of course I shall marry you,” she told him softly. “Thought I cannot begin to understand why you want to, after all.”

“Can’t you?” he asked softly, before he bent his head to kiss her.

Behind them the cries of “Stop that this instant!” grew louder.

After a moment they broke their embrace and Emmaline said impishly, “They are quite right, Jeremy. If we are going to Gretna Green, we had best be on our way. I wonder if there is a carriage here we might hire?”

“I quite think so,” Jeremy replied with a seriousness that was belied by the laughter in his eyes.

Hastily the elder Barnett moved to block the door. “You will do nothing of the sort,” he said.

“Not unless you wish to drive me into my grave, after all,” Sir Osbert told his daughter querulously.

For the first time Anna spoke. She crossed the room, tilted Emmaline’s chin to make the girl look at her. “It is too bad of you to tease your fathers like this. You know very well there is no need to fly to Gretna Green. All Sir Osbert wishes is your happiness, Emmaline,” she said. Looking at Jeremy, she added, “Once he is brought round to see that this reprobate is truly the person you wish to wed, he will grant his permission readily enough.”

Jeremy laughed. “Now I see why Sir Osbert married you, Lady Delwyn. Such a combination of beauty and wisdom in one woman!”

Grumbling, Sir Osbert also crossed the room to his daughter. Looking directly into her eyes, he said, “Do you really wish to marry this fellow, Emmaline? If you don’t, I swear I shall see to it that he does not bother you again.”

“Yes, I do wish it,” she replied softly.

Sir Osbert turned to his friend Lord Barnett and said heavily, “Well, what shall we do? I see no alternative but to give our blessing to the match.”

The elder Barnett nodded. “But you will not,” he told his son sternly, “do anything so scandalous as to elope to Gretna Green. There will be a church wedding on our home estate, just as there ought to be. Is that understood?”

Jeremy met his father’s gaze levelly. “What I understand,” he said coolly, “is that we shall be married when and where Emmaline wishes it.” He paused and looked down at her with a warmth that once more caused her knees to feel weak.

“Well, my love?” he asked her. “What is it to be? Gretna Green? Or London? Or my father’s estate?”

She leaned against him as she replied softly, “Anywhere, my love, so long as it is soon.”

Lord Barnett and Sir Osbert immediately fell to making plans. Jeremy regarded them grimly for a long moment before he said, “Out. All of you out. No doubt it will shortly be time for you to return to the Clarendon and take Emmaline with you, but before you do, I wish to speak with her alone. Out.”

The older men bristled at the tone of command but Anna proved once more Jeremy’s ally. “You had best do as he says,” she said reasonably. “It is by far the quickest way to put an end to all this and allow us to be on our way.” As the three of them left the parlor she turned to admonish the young pair one last time. “Five minutes and not a moment more, do you hear? I shall not allow you to compromise your respectability!”

When the door closed behind the three, Jeremy once more pulled Emmaline to him, kissing her hungrily. At last he broke free and murmured into her hair, “You cannot know how long I have wished to do that without you ripping up at me! Emmaline, we have both been such bloody fools that I thought you would drive me to madness. I shall never let you go again.”

“What? You mean to be a tyrant?” she demanded laughingly.

His arms tightened about her. “No, no, I swear I shall try to make you happy,” he said.

“And no mistresses?” Emmaline asked disingenuously. Jeremy growled down at her and she pressed on, avoiding his eyes, “I only ask because I was
so
disappointed when you said you would not invite me to your orgies.”

“If I ever catch you at an orgy—” he told her angrily.