The Unexpected Marriage of Gabriel Stone (Lords of Disgrace) (17 page)

Why, he worships his brother
. This was far from the distant relationship that Gabriel’s few references to his family had left her imagining. ‘Do you see much of your brothers?’ she asked. ‘I have not yet been to Edenvale and I am looking forward to that very much. I imagine you all get together there as often as possible.’

It was as though he had brought a shutter down over his face. Louis said stiffly, ‘No, not often. Ben is with his regiment, of course, and George has his parish and Gabriel avoids the place like...I mean, he prefers London. I usually visit friends during vacations, but this summer Gabriel has started teaching me about the estates so I have seen much more of him.’

‘Tell me more about Edenvale,’ she encouraged him. ‘Gabriel has hardly mentioned it. It must hold wonderful childhood memories for you.’

This time the shutters positively slammed down. ‘I was never very fond of it. I have written to Ben and George and I have every expectation that they will be able to come to the wedding. Can I help with anything here? Place cards, perhaps? I have a good hand.’

So what on earth was wrong with Gabriel’s country house that he avoided it? And it certainly seemed to hold no good memories for Louis either. Yet Gabriel had made no mention of any problems to her and she assumed that was where they would go after the wedding. It occurred to her abruptly that the subject had never even been discussed.

There was no point in pressing Louis, nor should she. ‘I am certain Lady Avenmore would be delighted if someone took on that task. The marquess’s secretary is already loaded down with all the work we are finding for him. Ah, here she is. Lady Avenmore, may I present Mr Louis Stone, Gabriel’s youngest brother. Louis, the Marchioness of Avenmore.’

Louis made a very proper bow and shook hands and they all sat again while Caroline explained about his offer of help and Tamsyn accepted gratefully.

‘Lord Edenbridge, my lady.’ Benson ushered Gabriel in.

‘Tamsyn, Caroline.’ He stopped halfway across the carpet. ‘Louis? What are you doing here?’

‘I came to offer my assistance as I have completed everything you left me.’

‘Have you indeed? And you have made yourself right at home, I see.’ Gabriel cast a jaundiced eye over his brother’s crumb-strewn plate.

‘We are very glad to see him, and I am delighted to make his acquaintance,’ Caroline said. ‘We were just talking about Edenvale.’

In the silence that followed she thought she could hear her own heart beating.

‘What about it, exactly?’

‘I was just saying that I couldn’t tell Caroline much because I hardly ever go there,’ Louis said.

‘I don’t even know where it is,’ she added in an effort to ease the strained atmosphere. ‘I am looking forward to seeing it very much.’

‘We will drive over when we are in Brighton,’ Gabriel said with no marked enthusiasm.

‘We are not going there for our honeymoon, then?’

‘Brighton, yes. Edenvale, no. It needs work doing to it,’ he added. ‘I thought you would like Brighton. Have you been before?’

‘No, never.’
And I know a
No Trespassing
sign when I see one
. ‘I am sure it will be delightful if this weather holds.’

‘It looks set fair. Excuse me, I must go and discuss wine with Cris. Make yourself useful here, Louis, and I will see you for dinner at Mount Street.’ He paused with one hand on the door. ‘I have asked Cris to be my best man. I wondered if you would like Alex to give you away, Caroline.’

‘Oh, yes, I would.’ He nodded and went out as she said to Tamsyn, ‘I cannot think of anyone better qualified to soothe a nervous bride’s nerves.’

‘Are you nervous?’ Louis asked, then blushed violently. ‘I do beg your pardon, I am sure that is the sort of thing one does not ask.’

He was so charmingly dismayed that she laughed. ‘It is merely the scandal, that is all.’

‘The scandal? You know about...?’ His voice trailed away. ‘Oh, you mean the scandal about the elopement. If you will excuse me, I will go and find Lord Avenmore’s secretary and offer to help with the place cards.’

‘And what was that about?’ Caroline asked Tamsyn whose bemused expression must be a match for her own. ‘What scandal?’

‘I have no idea. You will have to ask Gabriel.’

‘No, Gabriel has enough to worry about. If he wants me to know, he will tell me.’

‘You are very trusting. Anyone would think you were in love with the man,’ Tamsyn said slyly. ‘Have another cake.’

Chapter Seventeen

‘D
eep breath, chin up.’ Alex said, settling her hand more firmly in the crook of his elbow. ‘You look ravishing, you’ll bring Gabriel to his knees, every man in the place, including the vicar, will want to run off with you and all the ladies will be green with envy over your gown.’

If the laugh that escaped her was shaky it did release some of the tension, which was presumably why Alex was laying on the flattery with a trowel. ‘Thank you,’ Caroline said, answering the intent, not the words.

‘Off we go then.’ Alex set off at a slow walk for the head of the stairs, then paused for her to lift the hem of her skirt a little and get a grip on the spray of cream-and-pink roses and ferns she carried.

At the foot of the great sweep of staircase the household staff were arrayed in formal ranks and, as she came down the final curve, Caroline could see heads turning in the drawing room. Goodness knew what strings Cris and Alex had pulled, what wiles Tess and Tamsyn had employed, to get such a number of guests there. And such influential ones, too. Two Patronesses of Almack’s, the Swedish ambassador and his wife, one ancient duke, a marquess, a scattering of countesses, an archdeacon...

Tess had briefed her about each and every guest and it had all fled what passed for her brain now the wedding was actually happening. She had hardly slept last night, tossing and turning with nightmare visions of everything that might happen to stop it—her father appearing with a shotgun, the archbishop refusing the licence, Gabriel coming to his senses. And when she had fought all those phantoms down she was racked with worry that it
would
happen and that the marriage would be a disaster and—

‘Breathe
,’ Alex murmured as they entered the drawing room. For a second her knees turned to jelly and then she looked up through the gauzy veil and saw Gabriel standing at the far end of the room. He was a stranger, a well-groomed gentleman in a beautiful tail coat and silk breeches, his hair fashionably cropped, his expression severe. And then he saw her and everything was all right. She had no idea what tomorrow might bring, but here, now, the man she loved was smiling at her, was, against all convention, holding out his hand to her, and she was conscious of nothing more than his voice speaking the vows, the warmth of his grip, the caress of his lips as he put back her veil and kissed her.

‘You make a very lovely countess,’ Gabriel said as they processed back between the rows of guests.

‘It is this gown.’ She was walking on air now in her pretty French kid slippers, ready to believe he thought her
lovely
as the cream silk whispered behind her, as the tiny crystals and pearls caught the light and sparkled like snow in summer, as the diamonds he had given her flashed defiant fire at her ears and throat, wrist and in her hair.

‘It is you, my lady. You would have this room at your feet even if you were wearing sackcloth. You make me proud to be your husband.’

Hold this moment
a little voice inside her urged.
You will need this memory, you will need its strength.

* * *

‘How married do you feel?’ Gabriel asked as the chaise rattled over the cobbles past Brixton church and Caroline took off her bonnet and sat back with a sigh. They had a six-hour journey ahead of them, it was already well past noon and his bride was a trifle wan. She was still beautiful, but pale now and her smiles were beginning to look artificial. She would regain her spirits, he had confidence in her resilience, but for now he would try and keep things light.

‘I feel very married. But I am not certain about being a countess,’ Caroline confessed, with a dimple appearing that looked perfectly natural. ‘I will have to get Harriet to address me as Lady Edenbridge with every sentence until I become accustomed. How married do
you
feel?’

‘Exceedingly. The sight of my beautiful bride might have been a dream, but I have been comprehensively lectured by Cris and Alex on the subject, I have signed numerous legal papers, much to Louis’s delight, and I have seen an alarming amount of luggage loaded on the coach this morning. That all feels very real.’ So did the pleasure he felt when he looked at her, caught one of her smiles. It was almost easy to believe that he could make her happy. That she could make him happy.

‘Wait until the bills arrive, then you’ll most definitely know you have a wife,’ she said darkly. ‘Tamsyn and Tess insisted that you had given them
carte blanche
to buy whatever they felt was necessary, but it seems like a great deal to me.’ Glancing down, he saw that the dimple had vanished. ‘I wish my father would release my dowry, I do not like coming to you empty-handed.’

‘You bring yourself. That is all I need. I am a rich man, Caroline. I can well support a wife in style.’

She slipped her hand into his. ‘Thank you.’ Caroline was silent almost as far as Streatham village and he was wondering if she had fallen asleep. Then she said, ‘I do like your brothers.’

‘You do?’ He had kept a wary eye on them, as far as he was able amidst the demands of an early wedding breakfast.

‘Ben is a good officer, I imagine. He has that same knack of leadership that you do, but allied to military discipline. And I imagine that he takes good care of his men, for all his seeming rather abrupt. That is like you, too.’

‘Me? I lead no one anywhere except into trouble and I have no one to take care of. Except you now.’ A sweet duty.

‘And your brothers. And your friends. But if you are going to be foolishly modest I will tell you that I also liked George and I consider him quite indecently good looking for a clergyman. The poor man will spend his entire career evading heart-struck spinsters in the vestry. He will make a very beautiful bishop, which Louis informs me he intends to become.’

‘I am prepared to admit that he resembles me in looks,’ Gabriel said, fishing to see just how truthful she would be.

‘George is better looking than you are. His nose is straighter and he has a very engaging smile.’

‘That puts me in my place. And what about Louis?’

‘Oh, Louis is a darling. He is anxious to do well in his studies so that when he graduates he can be of the greatest use to you. He hero-worships you, of course.’

‘Nonsense. They all avoid me like the plague unless they need money. Or, in Louis’s case, employment.’

‘They are in awe of you,’ Caroline said, tipping back her head to frown at him. ‘They look up to you. I never spoke to them all together, but they all said the same thing, that they owe you so much. They love you, you know.’

Gabriel shifted on the seat, the plush upholstery suddenly as hard as planks. They could only have been referring to their childhood, but none of them knew just what lengths he had gone to in order to protect them. And none of them had witnessed that final crisis, only Louis, for whom the memory had been blanked out by shock.

He had sneered at Caroline’s devotion to Anthony, her total commitment to putting his welfare above her own. But he knew now why it had made him so uneasy and defensive. He had felt the same, had made his own sacrifices. But all this flummery about love... No. Even if his brothers did know, all he had done was his duty to them. He was the eldest and they were his responsibility.

‘You will invite them to stay, won’t you?’ Caroline rested her head on his shoulder. ‘There is room for guests at Mount Street and I imagine Edenvale is large enough for proper house parties. Now what have I said?’ She sat up again. ‘You have gone all stiff.’

‘None of us likes Edenvale.’

‘Then we must fix whatever is wrong with it. It is a wicked waste to have a large house uninhabited. It should be giving employment to the entire district, for one thing.’

She sank back against his shoulder and Gabriel wondered why that gesture was quite as pleasing as it was. This was his wedding day, he should want kisses and caresses from his wife, not confiding snuggling. Then she nudged him in the ribs. ‘Ouch!’

‘What about Edenvale? What is wrong with it?’

‘You are quite right about the employment. And I had meant to open it up for you as I imagine you would be happier down there when the children come along.’ Now it was her turn to stiffen, but he judged it unwise to ask why. ‘We did not have very happy childhoods there, that is all. A familiar enough tale, I suppose. Our mother died when I was fourteen. Ben was eleven, George ten and Louis only four. Our father was not an easy man.’ And that was all he was going to say on the subject.

‘And I suppose it is entailed, so you cannot sell it,’ Caroline mused as they entered Croydon. ‘But as I assume you did not intend depositing me, and our hopeful family, down there and never visiting, we must change it enough to reconcile you to it.’

‘As you say,’ he temporised, choosing to ignore the soft snort that produced. ‘Tell me why you have never been to Brighton. I would have thought your father was entranced by the Pavilion.’

‘Oh, yes, he much admires it. But he did not believe in taking the family on holidays when we had a perfectly good country house for fresh air and recreation. Tell me all about it. Where will we stay and what is there to do?’

‘I have taken a house overlooking the Steine. We were lucky to get it at this date, but apparently Lady Maltravers, who was renting it, had a violent quarrel with her bosom friend Lady Feldrake over a young man and has flounced off to Weymouth, declaring that the company there is far less vulgar.’

Gabriel talked about assemblies and libraries, drives and public breakfasts, the dubious aesthetics of the Pavilion and, of course, the opportunities for sea-bathing, until Crawley was behind them. ‘This is Pease Pottage,’ he said, expecting a murmur of amusement at the name. ‘We will change horses at the Black Swan.’ A soft, ladylike snore greeted this intelligence so he made no move to get out, instead settling Caroline more comfortably against his shoulder and gesturing away the landlord who came busting out while the grooms changed the horses and the postilions vanished into the taproom for a hasty pint of ale.

She was exhausted, and no wonder, he thought, surprising himself when he realised he was feeling no impatience at being trapped in the chaise instead of being able to get out, stretch his legs and take refreshment. It was a novelty to have a woman to take care of, one that he was discovering an unexpected tenderness for.

* * *

Caroline woke with a start and found they had drawn up abruptly because a young man was struggling to turn his gig and half-blocking the road. ‘I am so sorry.’ She sat up, uncomfortably aware that the shoulder of Gabriel’s coat was creased where her head must have rested, that her hair was in disorder and that she had slept at a time when any other bride would have been wide awake and paying close attention to her new husband. ‘Where are we?’

She had expected Gabriel to be irritable with her, but his smile was the rare one that reached his eyes and made her want to hug him. The smile she had seen at the altar. ‘Hand Cross, thirty-three miles from London. We’ll stop at the Red Lion, I expect you would like some tea.’

‘I would, definitely. I am sorry I went to sleep.’

‘Why be sorry? You are tired, which is no surprise, given what has transpired over the past few days.’

‘It is not very wifely behaviour,’ she said primly, which made him burst out laughing as the chaise turned into the inn yard.

‘And what do you know about wifely behaviour?’

‘About as much as you, I imagine. Or were you in the habit of driving down to Brighton with young ladies in the guise of Mr and Mrs Smith of Scandal on Thames?’

‘
Ladies?
One at a time, Lady Edenbridge, please. You have a flattering notion of my stamina.’ When she shook her head at him he smiled. ‘I am not in the habit of travelling with females.’

‘Are you not?’ she quizzed him, but he got down from the chaise and helped her out. She did not like to tease when there was the chance they might be overheard.

To Caroline’s surprise, Gabriel returned to the subject when she joined him in the private parlour after seeking out what the landlady coyly referred to as, ‘The amenities, ma’am.’

‘Did you think I travelled with a bevy of light-skirts and opera dancers?’ he enquired as she poured tea.

‘I have no idea.’ Caroline passed him his cup and surveyed the assortment of dainties that had been brought in with the tea. ‘I have no knowledge of that sort of thing, but you
do
have a reputation.’

‘For a sequence of
chères amis
, all of whom were, shall we say, ladies rather than professionals. And note I did say sequence. One at a time is quite adequate.’

Caroline digested this along with a cake that was turning to sawdust in her mouth. ‘Who is the current one?’

Gabriel choked on his tea. ‘No one!’ He recovered himself and added with his old, mocking half-smile, ‘Terribly bad
ton
for a newly married man.’

‘So you gave the lady her
congé
?’ She tried to gain some comfort from this, although the implication of his words only confirmed his earlier remarks about the likelihood he would stray from his vows.

‘I did. All very amicable, I assure you.’

Caroline almost believed him, but she was beginning to be able to read Gabriel, just a little, and there had been a betraying tightness about his mouth for a moment. So, the mistress of the moment had not been pleased. She repressed a little shiver, then assured herself that pride, if nothing else, would prevent whoever it was from making an unpleasant scene when she next encountered Gabriel in public. All the scandals about this marriage were going to be the ones she was responsible for bringing with her.

I will be a good wife,
she promised herself.
I will make him happy if it kills me. And I will not give him any excuse to chase other women,
she added grimly.
If he does then I will not be a complacent wife, even if Gabriel thinks that would make me a good one. I love him and I do not intend to share.

‘This is an excellent inn,’ Gabriel observed, looking round at the warm glow of the polished panelling. ‘It has been a long day. Shall we ask if they have a decent room available to go with this parlour? We could break our journey here.’