The Reluctant Suitor (69 page)

“I’m sure you’ll want to see Alice sent on her way posthaste,” Adriana responded, briefly bestowing a cold, withering stare upon the hag. Alice was the coarsest creature she had ever come across in her entire life, and she just couldn’t bear the idea of the woman staying another moment in a home that had never known such depravity. Her eyes immediately softened with love as she looked back at her handsome husband. “I’m going to ask your mother’s advice. She’ll be able to tell us what we should do.”

Moments later, Adriana and Philana were hurrying down the main stairs when the sounds of a carriage halting before the manor aroused their curiosity. Philana ran at once to a front window and, peering out through the moonlit darkness, espied the glowing lanterns of the landau that had come to a halt in the drive below the stone steps. The manly figure standing at the open door of the conveyance was unmistakable, and in elated surprise she spun about to face her daughter-in-law. “Alistair is here, dear, and he’s helping a young woman out of his carriage. That can only mean one thing!”

Both women hastened to the front portal and in their eagerness suffered a bit of confusion over which one would actually draw open the door. With a joyous laugh, Philana finally took care of the matter herself since Adriana was trying her best to placate the furiously squalling baby. Nearly ecstatic with relief, the elder yanked open the heavy portal so quickly that she caught her brother standing before the door with a fist suspended in midair.

For Alistair, the hardest part seemed to be recovering his aplomb with his jaw hanging aslack with surprise. In the following moment he reclaimed enough of his wits to close his mouth. Straightening his coat, he managed to assume a more lofty air as he strolled inward. Very proud of himself, he bragged, “

Efficient as always I am. Mathilda found a wet nurse for you in Bath, and I took the liberty of transporting the young woman directly here in case you were desperate.” He cringed slightly at the volume reached by the screaming youngster, and then cleared his throat. “Yes, well, ‘twould seem the young lady and I have arrived in the nick of time, eh what?”

“Uncle Alistair, you’re such a dear, dear man,” Adriana exclaimed happily and gave him an enthusiastic, one-armed hug. “Please do bring the woman in. The baby is starving!”

“This is Mrs. Blythe Fulton,” the man announced a moment later as he ushered the woman into the vestibule. “Her husband was killed at Waterloo. Only a pair of days ago, she gave birth to a stillborn.

Although I understand little of these matters, Mathilda has assured me that Mrs. Fulton is most anxious to find work as a wet nurse and to obtain relief, not only from her serious lack of funds, but from her . . . ah

. . . ah . . . painful condition.”

Philana offered a conjecture as she faced her daughter-in-law. “Mrs. Fulton will no doubt want some privacy, dear. As much time as it’s taking for my son to rout Alice from her room, I wonder if she’s proving difficult. Do you think we should ensconce Mrs. Fulton in a room downstairs for the moment or dare we show her to her bedchamber upstairs? I had servants freshen the sheets and linens in the room across the hall from Alice’s, just in case we were fortunate enough to find someone. I even had Samantha

’s old crib moved in there.”

“Colton’s chore in ousting Alice is definitely not one I envy, Mama Philana, but we shouldn’t let that woman’s presence dictate what we do for her replacement. Mrs. Fulton would likely be more comfortable if she were settled immediately into rooms of her own. Why don’t I take her upstairs to the chamber you readied? The sooner she can nurse the baby, the better we will all feel.”

The two younger women were just approaching the stairs leading to the upper floor when Alice’s harping tones all but drowned out the baby’s wailing.

“As much as I’ve looked ‘igh an’ low for it, I still can’t finds me gold ring,” she complained as she stalked out of her room. Half-turning to direct her comments to Colton, who followed upon her heels, she insisted, “Yu’re gonna haf ta makes good me loss, do yu ’ear? Me po’ dead husband give me the ring aftah ‘is ma passed on.”

“If
ever
you had one,” Colton retorted, highly skeptical of the idea that the unruly hag had ever had a gold ring
or
a husband.

“I ain’t leavin’ ’ere wit’out h’it, no I ain’t!” Alice declared, setting her jaw with stubborn tenacity. When she heard hurrying footsteps on the stairs and the infant’s squalling coming nearer, she tossed a triumphant smirk back at Colton. “Maybes I ain’ts leavin’ ’ere, aftah all.”

“You’re wrong there, Alice,” Adriana interjected from the stairs as she came into view of her husband and the shrew. “You
will
be leaving, posthaste in fact. We’ve been fortunate enough to find
and
hire a wet nurse for Genevieve this very hour.”

Colton felt his own jaw sagging in astonishment and was so curious he had no time to rejoice at Alice’s look of stunned disbelief. “How in the world did you manage that, madam?”

Adriana smiled smugly. “Uncle Alistair came to our rescue again, my love. Even as late as it was, your uncle made the trip from Bath to bring us Mrs. Fulton . . . just when we needed her most.”

Adriana gently rocked the baby in her arms, trying to soothe her some small whit as she settled a bland stare upon Alice. “ ‘Tis doubtful that you and Mrs. Fulton will ever meet again, so I shan’t bother introducing you. I shall, however, wish you a speedy journey from Bradford since I’m rather fond of the vast majority of its inhabitants.”

Colton pressed a knuckle against his lips to subdue his amusement as Alice brushed past the two women in bristling fury, having forgotten her earlier quest. If she could dismiss the gold ring from her mind so soon, it seemed to confirm his suspicions that she had never possessed one in the first place.

“I shall introduce you to my husband later,” Adriana informed Mrs. Fulton, giving the child over into her

arms. She inclined her head to indicate the room that would belong to the woman henceforth. “For the time being, however, you and the baby can become better acquainted in your chambers. ‘Tis certain the little darling needs your immediate attention, do you not agree?”

“Oh, yes, my lady, and I am most anxious to give it,” Blythe Fulton assured her, trying not to wince from the discomfort she was presently experiencing.

“

I shall awaken some of the servants and have your baggage brought up to your room,” Adriana informed her. “I assume your cases are still in his lordship’s carriage.”

“No need to bother the servants, my love,” Colton stated. “I can bring up her baggage myself.” Cocking a brow sharply, he leveled a forefinger at his beautiful wife. “I’ll see you in our chambers shortly. We need to talk about babies and such.”

Smiling, Adriana stroked her hand along the length of his arm as they passed. “My pleasure, my lord.”

“No, mine,” he murmured, tossing back a sly wink above a grin just as their fingertips slipped free of the other’s.

Nineteen

F
elicity donned her bonnet and a light shawl before slipping out of Edmund Elston’s house and hurrying up the dirt lane toward Bradford. She was confident that Roger would be gone on his errand to Bath long enough to allow her to accomplish what she had been yearning to do for some time. Her first destination was the apothecary shop, where she hoped to purchase the same herbs Adriana and Samantha had once given her grandfather. She had no way of knowing whether the elder had just been lauding the benefits of their gift merely because of his admiration for the two women, who purportedly had done many good deeds for the people in the area, or if the medicinal herbs had actually improved his condition. By bestowing upon him such a gift, she hoped to get back into his good graces. Yet, after her haughty conduct, she could rally little optimism that she’d be able to make amends though she now regretted her actions with all her heart.

For years, she had been inclined to discount her mother’s instructions on the merits of integrity, moral behavior, and self-esteem. Instead, she had considered her father an example to follow. She had allowed his derogatory opinion of Samuel Gladstone to become her own. Yet, at some point in her life, her mother’s lessons on honor, virtue, and kindliness must’ve taken root in her own character, for her respect for Jarvis Fairchild had plummeted the very day she had learned he had been pilfering funds from his father-in-law’s woolen mill by laying off workers without removing their names from the roster of employees requiring wages. His thievery had made the sterling attributes of her grandfather shine bright in

comparison.

When she had married and moved away from Stanover House, she hadn’t realized just how much she’d come to miss the old man, his wit, and his wisdom. Perhaps such admiration came from one gaining maturity. Since her union to Roger more than five months ago, she had become the recipient of some fairly harsh lessons about life and its hazards, which had made her far more appreciative of the values she had previously considered.

For instance, marriage could definitely be a nightmarish pit of demented debauchery when a woman had a husband like Roger. Not only did he have the manners of a boar in bed, but at times he became irrational, even furious when she didn’t readily perform his strange requests, many of which seemed vile and sordid. In spite of her reluctance and tearful pleading, he’d force her against her will as if she were merely a plaything to be used for his pleasure alone. She was forever in fear of what he’d do to her child when he slammed into her tender parts with such vehement force, as if he were some crazed demon, unable to obtain pleasure without dispensing a heavy dose of pain. If he had hated her and used such tactics as punishment, she could not have been more anxious about her welfare.

The bell hanging above the door of the apothecary shop tinkled charmingly as Felicity pushed it open and slipped within. A chubby-cheeked man with a short frizz of white hair running around the lower portion of his balding head leaned outward from a narrow aisle lined on both sides with countless shelves, upon which resided neatly organized, labeled glass bottles filled with various herbs.

“Yes, miss? May I be of some assistance?” he asked solicitously, adjusting his wire-rimmed spectacles in a quest to see her better.

“Why, yes, if you would,” Felicity murmured, offering the apothecary a tentative smile. If of late she had become diffident around men, it was only that she was now inclined to wonder how many were hiding an evil side. “More than eight months ago, my grandfather, Samuel Gladstone, received some medicinal herbs from two ladies of the peerage. He praised their benefits so highly that I thought I’d purchase more of the same for him. One of the ladies is Lord Randwulf’s sister and the other has since become his wife.

Do you happen to recall what those herbs were and, if so, would you be able to supply me with a fair sampling that I can take to my grandfather?”

“Why, I recall them very well, miss. In fact, I was the one who suggested those particular herbs to the two ladies. I thought they’d give your grandfather some vigor and possibly help his condition, but I fear they’re fairly rare and, for that reason, quite costly, miss.”

Felicity placed a pair of earrings on the counter between them. “Would you take these in trade? I believe they were worth a goodly sum when my father purchased them months ago.”

The apothecary tilted his head thoughtfully as he peered at her above his eyeglasses. “Are you sure you want to part with them, miss? They are quite lovely, and you’d surely look fetching wearing them.”

“Missus, actually. Mrs. Elston, to be exact.” Felicity nodded in response to his inquiry. “Yes, I’m willing to trade them. I have nothing else with which to barter.”

The apothecary could imagine the sacrifice the young woman was making in trading the earrings and sought to suggest a less arduous alternative. “Business seems to be going well at the mill, Mrs. Elston. If you don’t have the funds at this very moment, I can give you the herbs if you’d care to ask your husband to stop by later and pay me. I’m sure he could afford—”

“No, I’d rather not ask him. Nor do I wish you to reveal to anyone that I was even here, making such a purchase. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mrs. Elston. I can be quite tightlipped when I need to be.”

“I’d truly be grateful if you were, Mr. . . . ?”

“Carlisle, Missus. Phineas Carlisle. And don’t you worry none, Mrs. Elston, I won’t tell a blooming soul.

” Personally, he had never liked the Elstons, having become highly suspicious of the way the late Mrs.

Elston had gone from a healthy, effervescent individual to a listless, depressed, and totally forgetful creature soon after her marriage. He had seen opium work much the same way, and at the time he couldn’t help but wonder if Edmund had started giving his wife large doses without her knowledge to create the impression in people’s minds that she had been afflicted by some horrible malady. He would’

ve enjoyed proving his theory after her death and bringing evidence of her murder against the man, but he hadn’t been able to. If Edmund had killed his second wife by such a method, then he probably purchased the opium in London, the sources for which would’ve been difficult, perhaps even impossible to discover.

As for the son, this was Phineas’s first real hint that his initial perception of Roger Elston had some merit.