The Pirate and the Pagan (22 page)

“Yes, she wanted you to think that. I wonder if poor Jermyn has been elected stud until Charles arrives?”

“Ru, stop!” She again slapped him with her fan, but her good humor had been restored.

“What would you like to see? There’s a boring collection of arms and armor in the great hall or there’s some fascinating plasterwork in the long gallery. In fact, I think there’s a likeness of us depicted there,” he said gravely.

“I think that highly unlikely—show me.”

They strolled through the long room, which vividly depicted Bible stories from the Old Testament. “There you are!” His face was a perfect mask of gravity as he pointed to Eve in the Garden of Eden, “Just like you this afternoon … naked, holding a round thing in your hand.”

She gasped, “That’s an apple,” and spun about quickly to see if anyone had overheard the outrageous remark. No one was within earshot, so she turned back to the fresco, pointed to a naked Adam, and said, “And there’s you.”

“No, it isn’t. That fig leaf is far too small to cover my parts.”

“Since such a beautiful woman consented to marry you, I’ve noticed an increase in the size of your head, too!” She laughed up at him.

He immediately kissed her.

“You mustn’t kiss me in such a public place,” she said, blushing.

“If you want me to kiss you in a more private place, you’ll have to wait until we’re in bed,” he teased.

She sobered and said softly, “Will you take me to the private chapel?”

The chapel was small, but very beautiful. It even had a shrine dedicated to Sir John Grenvile, who had sailed to the Indies with Sir Francis Drake. Ruark watched his wife’s delicate profile as she knelt to pray. Suddenly her shoulders drooped and he wondered what in the world was making her so sad.

Summer was praying in earnest. “O Holy St. Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in Virtue and Rich in Miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, Faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need, to you I have recourse from the depths of my heart and humbly beg you to help my brother Spencer. Please make Ruark love me enough to take care of the mortgage on Roseland and free my brother from prison.”

“Darling,” Ruark murmured.

Summer opened her eyes and arose from her knees, searching his darkly handsome features.

“Let’s exchange our wedding vows again here while we’re private.”

Her eyes widened. “What a lovely thought. You are so romantic.”

They faced each other and held hands.

“I Ruark take thee Summer to my wedded wife, to have and to
hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth.”

Her throat had a lump in it at the deep sincerity of his words. Then huskily she said the vow back to Ruark, adding of course, “to love, cherish, and to obey.” Then Ruark fingered the bloodred ruby he had placed on her finger last night and repeated, “With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee honor, and with all my worldly goods, I thee endow.” She offered silent thanks to St. Jude, for already he seemed to be answering her prayer.

R
uark slipped a possessive arm about her and they emerged from the chapel to join the vast company for dinner. The great dining hall was ablaze with candlight. It reflected from the crystal goblets of water and wine and from the heavy silver service which would serve one hundred in the same identical pattern. Each place setting boasted a display of ten knives, forks, and spoons in the heavily ornamented Sterling which was crested with an ornate
G
for Grenvile.

Panic arose in Summer as she viewed the formal tables, wondering how on earth she would get through the meal without exposing her ignorance. She realized with dismay that Ruark had been literally telling the truth when he said there were two footmen to stand behind each guest’s chair to serve, any one of whom knew more about dining etiquette than she would ever know.

Ruark chose to sit next to the Arundells from Pendennis Castle and Summer listened attentively to their conversation. What she heard banished the worry over which fork to use, for here was Ruark making plans with John Arundell to entertain the King and whoever else wished to accompany him.

“I know Charles will want to pay a nostalgic visit to Pendennis Castle, so I propose to open Helford Hall for the court’s entertainment. It wouldn’t be for more than a couple of days because they
must be in Portsmouth next week for the arrival of Queen Henrietta Maria and Minette,” Ruark said to John.

Arundell’s wife gave Ruark a most grateful smile. “How very generous of you, Helford. I must admit I’m at a loss when it comes to entertaining these fashionable town people.” She bent confidentially toward Summer and said, “Their sleeping arrangements resemble nothing short of musical beds, so gossip will have it.”

Ruark saw the look of dismay etched on his wife’s lovely features and took her hand beneath the cover of the damask cloth. “Stop worrying, my sweet. We shall supply the wine and card tables and they will entertain themselves, and I doubt if all of them will come.”

Somehow she wasn’t in the least reassured.

Ruark said, “John’s father, Colonel Arundell, held Pendennis Castle for five months in a siege by the Parliamentarians. In the end it was hunger not force that beat Pendennis and the emaciated garrison marched out with the full honors of war.”

John Arundell gave them a deprecating smile. “I think every last one of us had heroic fathers … all the King’s brave men,” he said, shaking his head.

The dinner served was sumptuous. Some dishes were totally foreign to Summer and she took only a tiny amount in case they proved unpalatable; however, there were so many courses served, she was soon shaking her head when the footman pressed her to take more.

Muscians strolled about with violas and lutes, much as they must have done in medieval times, although now of course there was no throwing the bones to the dogs; the long-nosed footmen saw that everything was kept immaculate.

The formal dinner had lasted two hours, so it wasn’t until after ten o’clock that the assembly moved en masse to the gaming tables to indulge their passion for cards. Soon the tables were piled high with gold coins.

Ruark gave his wife a small bag of gold, squeezed her hand, and encouraged her to sit with the ladies while he joined Jack and Bunny Grenvile at dice. The room was soon filled with laughter, the whisper of cards being shuffled, and the
click-click
of dice tumbling from their wooden casting boxes. The players moved from table to table, changing from bassette or whist to ombre or trick track.

Whenever Summer found herself playing beside a gentleman, he
offered to let her play from his privy purse and she marveled at the easy and negligent way they gambled away their wealth.

Finally Summer found herself sitting at a table with Barbara Castlemaine, Anna Maria, Countess of Shrewsbury, and Lady Anne Carnegie, who, up close, was ridiculously overpainted. Barbara had a reputation for betting heavily and losing more than she won. “Gads, I swear I’m bored to death with this godforsaken country. I’ll be glad to get back to England, I’ll warrant you,” Barbara said, yawning.

Summer was stung and rose to the bait. “Cornwall is England, Lady Castlemaine. It was the only county to remain loyal to His Majesty.”

“Gads, that was all so long ago, but I swear ’tis all you hear about here at the back of beyond. Lady Anne, those are fine sapphires you are wearing tonight. Why don’t we play for our jewels instead of money, just to make the play the tiniest bit interesting?”

The Countess of Shrewsbury knew her friend Barbara was hardly interested in sapphires. No, it was Helford’s bride’s rubies she had her eye on. Barbara had a small collection of rubies and her fingers fairly itched to add to that collection.

After a very short time of play Barbara began to win every hand. There was absolutely no way Summer was going to lose the Helford rubies to Barbara, so she began to cheat blatantly. Barbara didn’t dare accuse her of dealing from the bottom because that’s exactly what she had been doing herself, though less skillfully.

After an hour’s concentrated play Summer became the new owner of Barbara’s topaz necklace, Anne’s sapphires, and Anna Maria’s pearls. Only Lady Anne looked worried. “What in blazes am I going to tell Lord Carnegie when he asks where my jewels are?”

“You know I rather like men, but husbands are a breed apart,” drawled Barbara. “Tell him what we all say when our jewels go missing … tell him they were stolen by a highwayman.”

“The practice is common enough he just might believe it,” agreed Anne Carnegie, looking relieved.

“Did you go to see Gentleman Jackson, the famous highwayman, hold court at Newgate last month?” asked Barbara. “I swear he had a greater audience than Charles that day. Gads, it was the drollest thing I’ve seen in an age and more than one titled lady gave him ‘come hither to bed’ invitations.”

Anna Maria’s coarse laugh rang out. “Perhaps I should give him
a try. We’re all looking for that one man in a million who can produce the triple orgasm. How was that contortionist from the circus, darling?” she asked Barbara spitefully.

“Shut your mouth, Anna … anyway he was a trapeze artiste.” She changed the subject back to highwaymen. “Did you hear that the Duke and Duchess of Mazarin were stopped and the damned fellow took the duchess in the bushes. When he was finished with her, he relieved the duke of fifty pounds for doing his drudgery for him!”

Anna Maria’s great whoop of laughter rang out and she begged, “Stop it, Barbara, before I pee myself.”

Ruark and Jack Grenvile strolled toward the ladies. Jack said, “You’re a lucky devil, Ruark, she makes all the other women look well used and shopworn.”

Ruark stopped behind his wife’s chair and cupped her shoulders in his hands. “It’s after midnight, darling.”

“Gads, in London we’d just be starting to wake up. After we tired of gaming, we’d dance till morning,” complained Barbara.

“You forget, Lady Castlemaine, they are on their honeymoon.” Jack Grenvile laughed. Though he was her host, Barbara was none too pleased that he had been created Earl of Bath. “If Lady Helford is as good in bed as she is at bassette, then you both have the devil’s own luck,” Jack went on.

Ruark’s manners were impeccable. Not for the world would he make a surly remark to mar the hospitality of his host and friend. He drew Summer from her chair, bowed low to the ladies, and bid his friend good night.

Just as they were about to ascend the stairs Summer spied Lady Anne Carnegie looking rather woebegone. On impulse she took the sapphires from her bag and handed them back to the overpainted young woman. “I would not like to cause trouble between a husband and wife,” she whispered.

Lady Anne, her mouth open, was bereft of words, but her eyes bespoke her gratitude. Summer felt much better about the whole thing. Her own relationship with her new husband was almost perfect and she could not bear the thought of causing angry words between another husband and wife.

The maid and manservant sat awaiting them in the blue and gold chamber. Summer wanted to dismiss them immediately, but Ruark was busy giving his valet instructions about which clothes to lay out for morning, so she did the same and told her maid she
would be wearing her cream velvet walking suit, trimmed with black braid. She would also need the matching hat with its sweeping black ostrich plume and the fur muff. She would not bother with a face visor which she rather thought was an affectation of London. She heard Ruark tell his man that he would need his magistrate’s wig and robes packed, then he poured them each a glass of white Rhenish and waited rather impatiently for the man to finish his duties. When the maid began to take the pins from Summer’s hair, Ruark dismissed her with three words. “I’ll do that.” The valet set the traveling case beside the door, and Ruark slipped a couple of gold coins into his hand then turned to smile at his wife.

Summer’s conscience had begun to nag at her. “Ru, there’s no need to go all the way to Plymouth tomorrow if you’d rather be here with your friends. I suddenly find extravagance fills me with guilt.”

“I’ve had word that I must go to Launceston Castle for the assizes tomorrow. The town prison is inside the castle and at the moment it’s holding some very important prisoners. You can watch me hold court tomorrow if you like. After we’re done it’s just a short sail down the Tamar River to Plymouth.” He drained his wine and came to stand before her. “You are so unearthly fair.” He bent to brush his lips across hers and her mouth opened slightly to receive his kiss. “You are generous enough to give me everything I desire,” he said huskily, removing the pins from her hair so that the silken mass fell over his hands, “so why shouldn’t you have everything you desire?”

She sighed. “I think perhaps I already have that.” Her head fell back in sweet invitation. Never had he felt a desire like the one that overpowered him now. He wasted no time removing his clothes then he lifted her dress over her head and buried his face in the exaggerated upthrust of her breasts before he removed the tiny busk. He lifted her onto the bed, still adorned in her rubies and her lace stockings and garters, and murmured thickly, “You may keep your stockings on now to make up for this morning when I robbed you of them.”