When a Marquis Chooses a Bride (33 page)

“I don't believe it. Once a woman gets to you, it's impossible to let go.”

“That was part of the problem. Thea scared me to death. She was exactly what I wasn't looking for.” Yet she was everything he needed.

“You can stop worrying. They have arrived.”

His large dark green lacquered landau pulled to a stop. Sir Henry alighted before handing Thea down.

The wind rushed out of Dom as if he'd been punched in the stomach. How did she become more beautiful every time he saw her? His valet had been right. The sapphires were perfect. He reached out, took her hand, and stared.

A light blush rose in Thea's cheeks as she smiled at him.

“Come on now.” The duchess's voice ripped him out of his daydream. “You gentlemen are all the same. Can't wait for your bride to arrive, then you do nothing to the point. We've got a wedding to make happen, guests arriving in less than an hour, and you're standing here mooning.” She prodded him on his back with her cane. “Let's go.”

“Yes, Grandmamma.”

“Impertinent jackanapes.”

He resisted when her father took Thea's hand from his.

“Don't worry,” Sir Henry joked. “I'm going to give it right back. Have to do this properly or I'll never hear the end of it.” He lowered his brows. “She'll be yours in a few minutes, young man. Take care of her or you'll answer to me.”

The tension he'd felt since she'd left him this morning faded away. “I will.” Dom grinned. “And I am positive she'll tell me if I make a mistake.”

Sir Henry placed Thea's hand on his arm. “Welcome to the family, son.”

Dom tried to swallow past the lump in his throat as they walked into the church. Matt had been right; only their families and a few friends were present.

Several minutes later, Sir Henry placed Thea's hand in Dom's. He captured her gaze when he said his vows to her. Thea's calm never seemed to waiver. In a clear, strong voice she promised to take him as her husband.

The vicar, a younger man, grinned as he pronounced them man and wife. “I wish you both a long and happy life together.”

As soon as they signed the register, it was as if some spell had been broken. The children's voices rose and they were engulfed in hugs and kisses.

“Well, Vicar,” Matt said, “you're getting better at this.”

The man flushed. “I've had some practice now.”

Dom glanced at his cousin. “He's the same one who married you?”

“Yes, Grace and I were his first. By the time he's done with all of us, he'll be the most experienced clergyman in London.”

“My lord, I think we should go home.” Thea smiled up at him.

“As you wish, my lady.”

When they got to the carriage, he handed her up. “Are the rest of them coming?”

“No, Matt arranged for other coaches. We have a few moments to ourselves.”

“In that case”—he nuzzled her ear, and was gratified when her pulse quickened—“I shall tell you how I plan to remove this delightful gown from your equally delightful body.”

Her smile lit her face, and her voice was a siren's call. “You perceive me all ears, my lord.”

* * *

Still gowned in their new clothing, Tom, along with Mary, Theo, and Philip crowded at the schoolroom window of Merton House overlooking Grosvenor Square. Two rough-looking men stood watching the house. It was the first time Tom had seen them since Dotty and Lord Merton had saved him. At first he'd been afraid, but now, with his father, and Matt, and his lordship, he knew no one could hurt him again.

“Are you sure that's them?” Theo asked.

“Yes.” Tom nodded. “I'll never forget.”

Philip, the oldest at eight years, narrowed his eyes. “We'd better tell someone. You stay here and watch. I'll send for help.”

Tom's nursemaid, Sally, joined them. “Keep back a ways from the window so they can't see you.”

Not long afterward, some of the grooms entered the square one and two at a time, talking and walking slowly as if they had nothing else to do. His father and Matt were with them. Soon the two men were surrounded, but they hadn't seemed to notice. Matt gave a signal and the grooms grabbed one of the men and Papa smashed his fist into the other man's face.

“That was a perfect flush hit,” Philip exclaimed. “Your father has good science.”

“Come on with you now.” Sally hustled them away from the window after the grooms took the men away. “There's nothing more to see here, and Cook's got treats for you in the breakfast room.”

Mary took Tom's hand in hers, squeezing it. “Do you feel better now?”

“Yes. I feel a lot better. Thank you.”

* * *

Dotty strolled out to the terrace with Dom. Louisa, Charlotte, Meg Featherington, and Elizabeth Turley sat around a table.

“Sweetheart.” He brushed his lips across hers. “Don't be too long, will you?”

“No. I'm as anxious to leave as you are.”

Saying if they remained at Merton House, they'd never get away in good time in the morning, Grandmamma had reserved a suite of rooms for them this evening at the Pulteney.

A footman brought a chair and a fresh bottle of champagne to the table. Once he'd finished pouring, he bowed to Dotty. “My lady. May I say we are all very happy to have you here.”

“Thank you, George. I am glad as well.” Ever since she returned from church this morning the servants had made a point of welcoming her as their new mistress.

Her friends smiled as she took her seat.

“Who would have guessed,” Meg said, grinning, “that Lord Merton would turn out so well?”

“Not me.” Louisa took a sip of champagne. “Even
I
like him now.”

“How do you like being married?” Charlotte asked.

“It has only been a few hours, but so far, it's everything I thought it would be.”

Elizabeth sighed.

“Don't tell me you still wish you'd married him?” Meg asked.

“No, not at all.” Elizabeth stopped playing with her glass and took a drink. “It wouldn't have done. Dotty is perfect for him. I would merely like to be married.”

Suddenly, Dotty felt much older than the other ladies. Could being wed do that to one? “You will be. The right gentleman will come along.”

“At the beginning of the Season,” Charlotte said, “Lady Evesham told me to wait for the right gentleman.”

“True.” Louisa tilted her head to one side. “Lady Rutherford said the same to me, and look at Grace. Matt was the only one she ever loved.”

Charlotte raised her glass. “Here is to all of us marrying our heart's desire.”

Meg poked Elizabeth. “And no settling for anything less.”

“Very well.” She joined the toast. “To our heart's desire, wherever or whomever he may be.”

Beautiful, innocent, and managing, Lady Louisa Vivers is halfway through her first Season, and she still has not met the gentleman she wishes to wed, until Gideon, Duke of Rothwell shows up in her brother
's
study that is. Morning rides, and evening waltzes have her convinced he is the one. After their first kiss, when another lady claims the duke is going to marry her, Louisa immediately announces they are betrothed. What she doesn't know is that he can't afford to wed anyone at the moment . . .

 

 

 

 

Dawn had broken only a few minutes before, but a light fog clouded the air making the sun look like a small yellow ball. Gideon, Duke of Rothwell was certain he was the only rider at this hour of the morning. Needing the calm a hard ride gave him, he thundered down the empty carriage way. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a dark bay burst through the mist disturbing his solitude. Yet it was the massive dog, almost the size of a pony, keeping pace with the horse that caught his notice.

Faisu, his black Murgese stallion, pranced nervously as Gideon brought him to a halt. “Easy, boy. We don't need that beast tangling with you. He could sever your hamstrings in an instant.”

A moment later, a twist of long, dark hair pulled loose from under the rider's hat, riveting his attention on the woman. By the time she was even with him, he'd taken in the neat figure incased in a dark blue riding habit, and her excellent seat.

She glanced over, slowing her horse for a bare moment as she passed him. Her cheeks were pink from the cool air and a smile graced her lush rose lips. Their gazes collided and held. As if they were the only two people on earth. In that second, Gideon felt as if he would tumble into the vivid blue of the rider's eyes.

He blinked and she was gone. He might have dreamed her except that a few seconds later, a groom raced by, clearly attempting to catch up with his mistress.

For a moment he was tempted to follow as well. He wanted to follow her, but it wouldn't do him any good. She was obviously a lady, and even if he could obtain an introduction, and their relations proceeded satisfactorily, he was not yet in a position to wed.

It was pure fantasy to think of marriage in conjunction with a woman he'd seen in passing. Still, he would have liked to have been able to dream.

But the old duke had been in the ground for over three months when Gideon had returned from Canada. Now all he could do was pick up the pieces his father had left behind.

“Come on, boy.” Shaking the blue-eyed image from his mind he urged Faisu to a trot. “It's time to go back. As long as I am here, I may as well gather information, and settle some accounts.”

He should never have left. The waste was his fault. Had he stayed home, none of the damage would have occurred. What was the old saying about reaping what one sowed? Well, it was now his job, his alone, to restore the dukedom's holdings to what they had been only a few years ago, before he'd left for the colonies and played at being a backwoods man. Unfortunately, those experiences would not help him bring back and modernize his holdings.

Fifteen minutes later, as he rode up to the stables in the mews behind his town house, he surveyed the building, searching for any signs that it would soon need to be repaired. When he'd returned from Canada, his first shock was discovering his father had died. A letter had been sent, but not arrived before he left the colonies. The second shock was the poor condition of the estates. It baffled him that the once prosperous properties could fall into such disrepair in such a short period of time. If only he knew what had occurred to make his father neglect his holdings when he'd prided himself on them in the past. To make it more baffling, no one at Rothwell Abbey could explain, to Gideon's satisfaction, what had occurred to change his father.

If only he had remained at home where he belonged instead of hieing off across the ocean. This was a lesson not to allow others to tend to his responsibilities.

He really did not have time for this bolt to Town, but his cousin, the Marquis of Bentley had written begging for Gideon's help, and here he was.

“Yr Grace.” Barnes, his stable master, strode quickly to Faisu's head taking hold of the harness. “I've got him now.”

“How is the roof?” Gideon asked as he swung off the horse. In the short time he'd been home, he had learned to ask. No one, it seemed, wanted to volunteer information. “I want the truth. It is much easier to fix a small leak than the damage it can do.”

“Dry so far, Yr Grace. I'll keep an eye out. The glazing's comin' off from around some of the windows.”

If that was the worst of it, Gideon would count himself lucky. It would take time and patience to make the repairs on the buildings that had been neglected, but he'd be damned if he'd allow anything else to fall into disorder. “Make arrangements to have them repaired.”

“Yes, Yr Grace. Going to be here long?” the man asked, a hopeful look on his weather-beaten face.

“A few weeks, perhaps less. There is a deal to do at Rothwell and some of the other estates.”

“Bad doings all of this.” The older man tapped the side of his nose. “I'll make sure the town coach is in good order then. Won't do to have it break down when you need it. Or lookin' shabby.”

“If it's the same one I remember, it probably needs to be replaced.” Gideon's tone was even grimmer than he felt which was quite grim enough.

“It's got another couple o' years yet.” The stable master started to lead Faisu into his stall and stopped. “Leave it to old Barnes.”

“Thank you.” Gideon hoped he'd conveyed the gratitude he had for his old retainers. They truly were gems. Without their loyalty and patience, his life and the lives of his family would be much more difficult.

“Now that yer here, what you planning on doing with the new carriages the old duke ordered from Hatchett's?”

“New carriages?” He fought to keep his jaw from dropping. What the deuce had his father been thinking? Although, that bit of unnecessary extravagance went along with the other information he was slowly piecing together about the old duke's recent behavior. Spending that left little with which to maintain the estates.

“Got a landau and a high perched phaeton—”

“The devil you say.” His father wouldn't have seen seventy again. “What was he going to do with a phaeton?”

Barnes flushed. “I think it was fer that high-flyer he took up with.”

Gideon's breath stopped. His parents had been the most devoted couple he knew. What had happened to make his father change so drastically? And why in God's name had no one written to Gideon asking him to return home?

Damn his eyes!
It needed only that.

Frustration coursed through him. He raked his fingers through his hair, knocking off his hat in the process. Yet, somehow, this fit the fractured story he'd heard, or rather had not heard, about Father's death. It was probably the reason Mama had been so tight lipped. No one had or would explain what exactly had happened to make the duke ignore his holdings as he had. Thank God, most of the assets were entailed or Gideon might have found them mortgaged to the hilt at best or sold. “Do you happen to know who this barque of frailty was?”

“Her maid called her Mrs. Rosemund Petrie.” Barnes spit as he said the name. “Like she was royalty and should be treated as such. Nothin' more than a whore, if you ask me.”

His stable master might not know much about the woman, but Gideon would make sure he found out not only exactly who the female was, but what, if anything, he could recover from her. Then a thought he did not want to consider occurred to him. “I was told he died in Town.”

Barnes, picked up Gideon's hat where it had fallen, running his hand around the brim, for a moment before saying, “Died in bed, he did. With her.”

“Here?” He eyed the older man sharply. “At Rothwell House?”

Not looking up, the stable master nodded slowly.

“Don't no one know that, Yr Grace,” Barnes said quickly, as if he would be blamed for the old duke's indiscretions. “I got her out of there with no one the wiser . . . except'n fer two of the grooms and Mr. Fredricks. Those that works here know which side their bread is buttered on. Won't no one be carrying tales.” He made an “X” over his heart. “Strike my name from my ma's Bible if they do. Mrs. Boyle even had the mattress changed out. Said it was full of wickedness.”

Gideon didn't think that a mattress could have a wicked nature, but he was just as glad for the new one. He would likewise swear that his mother had a good idea where her husband had been when he'd gone to his Maker. “I am sure you did everything necessary.”

“Yes, Yer Grace. I'll get them windows fixed. What about that Mrs. Petrie's horses and carriage she's got here?”

He speared Barnes with a hard look. “I would greatly appreciate it if you would tell me everything at one time. How many horses, carriages, and whatnot? Did my father buy them, or were they hers before he became involved with her? Please feel free to add any other information you believe necessary as well.”

The stable master rubbed his nose, as he thought. Finally, Barnes replied, “The old duke bought her a nice Arabian hack, and two dark bay high-steppers for the phaeton he bought her a couple o' years ago—”

“Matched?” Gideon could barely spit out the word.

The servant looked at him as if he'd gone mad. “Wouldn't have expected anything else from His Grace, would you? Now if I can finish, Yer Grace?”

Clenching his jaw, he gave a curt nod. Not that it mattered how much more there was. It would all be sold as soon as possible. He calculated the costs of the cattle alone to be at least three thousand pounds. Father had never stinted on horseflesh. Gideon turned his attention back to Barnes who was still reciting his father's purchases over the past three years.

“Sell it all.”

“I was about to get to the saddles and other tack,” the older man said in an aggrieved tone.

“Keep the horses I brought with me and whatever you think best for the town coach. The rest goes.”

“What about the curricle. Won't get much fer it, and you might need it.”

He could use a sporting carriage. It would certainly save money in hackneys. “Very well. I'll keep it, but contact Tattersalls and whoever else you need to about the carriages and other items.” Barnes opened his mouth again. “Keep anything you think I shall require.”

“Thank ye, Yer Grace.”

 

 

 

“Measles?”
Lady Louisa Vivers exclaimed. “All three of them?”

Excited to tell someone about the gentleman she'd seen in the Park, she had gone directly to the parlor she shared with her friend and new sister, Lady Charlotte Carpenter.

Just before the Season began in earnest, Matt Worthington, Louisa's brother had married Lady Grace Carpenter. Grace had guardianship of her seven brothers and sisters. The marriage had given Louisa a total of ten brothers and sisters, including her own three sisters. Sometime this coming winter, the number of children would increase to twelve with the arrival of Matt and Grace's first child. The girls were ecstatic to be aunts. Even the boys were excited.

However, as Louisa opened her mouth to speak, Charlotte told her of the doctor's diagnosis. Obviously, that news took precedence over Louisa's.

“Yes,” Charlotte replied. “Theo, Mary, and Philip. According to Cousin Jane and the information your mama left for Grace, the others, including Grace and Matt have already had them.”

“Will that put off Grace and Matt's trip to Worthington?” The addition of so many family members meant that not only Worthington House, but the Worthington main estate must undergo extensive renovations in order to accommodate everyone. In fact, the only one of her brothers and sisters not residing at present in the Carpenter town home, Stanwood House, was Charlie, Earl of Stanwood, who was at Eton. Even Louisa's mother and her new husband, Richard, Viscount Wolverton, would stay at Stanwood House for the rest of the Season while Worthington House was being renovated. Well, after they returned from their wedding trip to Richard's estate in Kent, of course. Fortunately, the two houses were directly across Berkeley Square from each other.