“Of course.” Phillip nodded. “So when you returned to Bristol after your father’s death and discovered he had left you with a respectable name, but massive debt and empty coffers, your mother must have recommended you find a wealthy bride post-haste.” He paused, leaning forward. “It must have galled her, then, when you chose the daughter of a simple naval captain. Beth’s grandfather may have been gentry, but as he has died, his influence was non-existent. So while your mother wanted you to marry, she had hoped you would find a more worthy candidate than my Beth, even though her dowry was quite fine for your purposes. Is that not right?”
Mr. Newell held his tongue, although his Adam’s apple bobbed with the force of his swallows. For her part, Mrs. Newell simply studied the folds of her skirt.
Beth stared at the older woman with a slight curl to her lip.
“My daughter deserves a gentleman more worthy of her hand. It is not her responsibility to save you from financial decisions you made of your own accord. The settlements had not yet been signed, so you have no legal right to her dowry, and she has no reason to honor the engagement.” Looking to Beth, Phillip raised his brows. “And you no longer wish to marry Mr. Newell, is that not correct?”
“You are correct, Father,” Beth said staunchly.
“But we have guests coming for the wedding.” Mrs. Newell’s voice rose, her tone shrill. “Some from London. So many illustrious guests were going to be present for the ceremony. What am I supposed to tell them now?”
Annalise smiled. “Tell them that instead of a wedding celebration, they are welcome to celebrate Christmas with you and Mr. Newell. Surely that is a most appropriate alternative.”
Mrs. Newell glared at her before swinging her gaze to her daughter. She pointed a bony finger at Beth. “I told Silas you were not good enough for him. And I was right. He will be humiliated in front of the entire community.”
A small smile softened the irate lines on Beth’s face. “Of course Mr. Newell will not be humiliated. I daresay there will be numerous young ladies thanking the good Lord for allowing them a second chance to earn his notice. Rather than fret about the broken engagement, I would think you’d be cheering the idea that he may still marry a young woman you can approve of.”
Pressing a handkerchief to her mouth, Annalise did her best to contain her laugh. Beth had responded perfectly to the older woman’s vitriol, and a warm glow of pride in her daughter filled her chest.
Apparently unable to think of an appropriate response to Beth’s logical argument, Mrs. Newell rose to her feet and swept out the door. Her son made to follow her, but he hesitated at the doorway.
“I had looked forward to marrying you, Miss Dalton. You really are the prettiest young lady of my acquaintance.”
“But I am much more than pretty, Mr. Newell,” Beth said, standing to face him, “and I fear our marriage would have suffered when you realized this truth for yourself.”
Mr. Newell cast his eyes to the floor and nodded. After a long moment, he finally said, “Have a good day.”
Annalise darted her gaze to Beth, words of praise on her tongue, when the young woman collapsed onto the settee next to her.
“That was much more difficult than I anticipated.”
“You made it look effortless, my dear,” Phillip said.
“Oh, but my hands were shaking the entire time.” Beth knotted her fingers together in her lap. “But I’m ever so relieved it’s done. I feel as if a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders.”
“I’m happy to hear it, dearest,” Annalise crooned, bussing her cheek.
“There’s only one thing that dampens my relief at being freed from my engagement to Mr. Newell.” Turning big eyes, first on Phillip, then on her, Beth said, “We have invited so many guests to attend the ceremony. And the wedding breakfast. If we are not able to cancel our contracts with vendors, whatever will we do?”
That worry had played on Annalise’s nerves since Beth expressed her desire to cancel the engagement. There was a very real chance that the majority of their vendors would keep their deposits or send around the entire bill to be paid in full. The possibility had left her nauseated, and yet she was willing to bear it if it meant her daughter would be happy.
But now that Beth had voiced her own concern, Annalise did not know how to respond.
Thankfully, Phillip saved her from doing so.
“I’ve actually been considering this, and I have a possible solution.”
Annalise noticed he avoided her gaze, and she was instantly wary. Surely it had something to do with his departure to Wales, for why else would he be nervous?
Taking a moment to clear his throat, Phillip continued. “I was thinking that perhaps we could hold another sort of wedding ceremony…between your mother and me. A renewal event, if you will.”
A loud ringing sounded in Annalise’s ears, and she stared dumbly at Phillip, willing herself to understand his words.
“Oh Father, what a marvelous idea!” Beth clutched her hands to her chest, her dark eyes sparkling.
It was a ridiculous idea. Phillip had no notion of why he had blurted out such a suggestion. While it was true that he had resolved not to leave for Wales unless Annalise departed with him, another wedding ceremony was not something he would have ever considered. Annalise would surely laugh in his face, and he would not blame her.
“This is the perfect opportunity for you to have the romantic wedding you were unable to have previously,” Beth continued, oblivious to his awkwardness or Annalise’s continued silence.
“Well, we didn’t truly know each other then,” Phillip felt compelled to add. “But we do now. And your mother deserves a grand wedding, and always has.”
Annalise met his eyes then, surprise and doubt melding into curiosity. “Are you in earnest? Do you truly want to marry me again?”
Her tentative words pierced his heart. Sinking before her, Phillip grasped her hands. “I would marry you every day if I could. Maybe if I did, I would finally believe that such a witty, clever, and beautiful woman is actually my wife.”
Her mouth began to quiver. “But…you’re leaving for Wales. Without me.”
Phillip raised his hand to cup her cheek, running his thumb over her lip. “I’m not leaving anywhere unless you’re coming with me. Spending time with you these last few weeks has shown me that I don’t want to be separated from you again, unless I can’t help it.”
“Oh, you dear man,” she choked out, tears welling in her eyes. “I adore the estate in Wales and was so hurt you hadn’t thought to invite me to accompany you there.”
He’d been such a fool. Too afraid to impose on his wife, unwilling to upset her life as he had done for so long before, that he had failed to see that Annalise was willing to welcome more from him. Perhaps she was willing to accept all of him.
Phillip reached up to press a kiss to her forehead. “You are married to a daft man, my dear. In truth, I was afraid to ask you. You have a full life here in Bristol, and I thought you would grow bored with the quietness of Wales.” He swallowed a painful lump. “I wrote Charles, and he has not responded. I even attempted to pay him a visit but was told he’s away at the countryside for Christmas. I so wanted to assure you that he would make amends. That the past was truly behind us. But I can’t. Dammit, I can’t.”
“Oh, Phillip,” she began, grasping his stubbled cheeks in her hands, “I have no interest in the past. I’m only concerned with the future. A future with you.”
Overwhelmed with emotion, he clenched his eyes shut for a long moment. Finally, he released a long exhale. “Seeing as how our lovely daughter will not be marrying at the moment, perhaps after we celebrate Christmas with our friends, we can sojourn to the estate in Wales, all three of us.”
“It will be our very first holiday together as a family,” Beth breathed, her shining eyes darting back and forth between him and Annalise.
“It will be. But it won’t be the last,” Phillip said, rising to his feet
and pulling Annalise up to wrap her in a fierce hug. “I love you, you know. I have from the very first.”
Looking up, she smiled brightly. “And I love you, although it took me a bit longer to realize it.”
“Because I had to earn it,” he whispered against her temple, “and I am ever so glad that I did.”
This Christmas promised to be very special, indeed.
Epilogue
“I have never seen a more beautiful bride.”
“Have you seen very many brides, my dear?” Annalise inquired, smiling at her son in the mirror.
Oliver shrugged, looking handsome in his black dress attire. And so much like his father Annalise’s breath caught.
“As it were, I haven’t. But now that I’ve seen you, I’m certain all others pale in beauty.”
Turning about on her seat, Annalise caught his hand and pulled until he sat on the bench next to her. “Tell me, my dear, are you practicing your best lines on me? Testing how they are received?”
“I am doing no such thing.” Oliver affected disgruntlement before the corners of his lips tipped up. “However, would you say you were impressed?”
Annalise chuckled. “They were most impressive.”
Pulling on his lapels in an exaggerated fashion, Oliver smiled when she laughed again. After a moment, his smile faded as his intense gaze skipped over her face. “So he finally won you.”
“Your father didn’t win anything.” She smacked his hand lightly. “I’ve always been his wife.”
“Of course you have. But…” He paused, reaching up to lightly touch the festive red roses Beth had entwined into her hair. “But now he’s won your heart. I never would have thought there was much of a difference, but seeing you and Father over the last several days has shown me how wrong I’ve been.”
Fighting back tears, Annalise locked her jaw to contain them. Never would she have thought that the serious-minded young man she had married to save herself from ruin all those years ago would be the kind-hearted, loving man she adored today. Since she had agreed to renew their vows, he had been attentive and doting. Annalise paused when she realized he had always been that way. Phillip had always been courteous and thoughtful, but now that they had been honest about their true feelings for each other and laid to rest all the sins of the past, all his previous actions came into sharp relief. He claimed to have always loved her and, looking back on the long years of their marriage, she realized he had shown her his love in a multitude of ways, big and small. Annalise just hadn’t recognized his regard for what it was.
Well, now was the time for her to showcase her love for him.
“Are you ready?” Oliver asked, cutting through the fog of her thoughts.
“I’ve been ready for the last twenty-five years. Now take me to your father,” she ordered, rising to her feet and looping her arm around his.
“Only because he deserves you. And you deserve him.” Oliver pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. “Now, let’s not leave the poor man thinking his bride has changed her mind.”
“Yes, let’s not,” she agreed, allowing Oliver to escort her down the stairs and into the family parlor.
Her nerves danced a merry tune, but as soon as their son lead her through the door, her eyes met Phillip’s and all her skittishness fell away. This was her husband, after all, the man she’d known nearly her whole life. And yet she had not truly understood him, or loved him, until he had finally returned home. But the future was now theirs to spend together.
The End
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Sarah Pesce of Lopt & Cropt Editing for helping me craft this novella into something I can be proud of. Also, thanks to my amazing writing tribe, Elizabeth Bright, Lisa Lin, and Laura Guy, for their unfailing support. And endless gratitude goes to my family, especially my supportive husband, who has never begrudged my writing time, and has been my most ardent cheerleader.
Books By Liana De la Rosa
Once Upon A Scandal series
Book One - To Love A Scandalous Duke
Declan Sinclair has returned to England to discover his brother is dead and he’s the new Duke of Darington. As he untangles the mystery of his brother's death and manages a dukedom he never expected to have, he battles the gossip that surrounds his family’s scandalous past. When he learns his brother was murdered, and the possible culprit was also to blame for their father’s death years earlier, Declan is more determined than ever to see justice done, no matter the cost.
Lady Alethea Swinton is the toast of the ton. But the swains who flock to her side bore her…until her childhood friend abruptly returns, and flips her world upside down with his sharp wit, mysterious past, and darkly handsome good looks.
As family secrets are laid bare and long held mysteries revealed, Declan and Alethea discover their friendship unfolding into something deeper and more profound than either anticipated. But can their love survive the greatest scandal of all or will Declan choose vengeance over love?
Book Two - To Resist A Scandalous Rogue
For Finlay Swinton, Viscount Firthwell and only son of a powerful earl, life has been a lark…until he discovers a terrible family secret that could ruin him. Determined to make a name for himself free of scandal’s shadow, he runs for Parliament. However, he encounters Charlotte, the mysterious woman who disappeared after their one night together, and he finds it impossible to stay away, despite her working class status and Jewish faith that threaten to destroy his chance for success.
Widowed, penniless, and desperate, Charlotte Taylor secures a teaching position at a foundling home and relaxes into a predictable existence. That is, until Finlay, the man she shared one romantic night with, reappears, a specter from her past. He ignites her passion, even while he threatens the precarious foundation on which she’s rebuilt her life. But when those from her past return to endanger her hard-earned security, she’ll have to reveal his secret or go to prison.
Book Three - To Tame A Scandalous Lady
In the wake of a fire that decimates his racing stock, Christian Andrews, the Marquess of Amstead, struggles to keep his family's stud farm from slipping into ruin and painstakingly rebuilds the program. When one of his prime stallions is injured, he notices his new assistant trainer has a special way with the horses. As talented as the trainer is, once he realizes he is a she—and a very beautiful, spirited she at that—he should sack her before scandal breaks. But it’s only weeks before the high stakes race he’s counting on to build back his fortune, and Flora should be by his side for the win.
Miserable under the weight of the ton’s expectations, headstrong Lady Flora Campbell laments her privileged life in London. Embracing her dream of working with racehorses, she disguises herself as a lad and slips away to learn as much as she can from England’s premiere expert, Christian Andrews, never thinking of the scandal she courts but the glory to be had.
Although she develops a tendre for the dashing marquess, she can never let on that she’s not only a woman, but the daughter of a duke…
Book Four - To Tempt A Scandalous Lord (Coming in early 2021)
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About the Author
Liana De la Rosa is a historical romance writer whose stories are set in the Late Regency and Victorian periods. As a longtime fan of the romance genre, Liana used to sneak Harlequins into her bedroom to read on the sly. Even now, her reading list is dominated by romance...as well as fan-fiction for her favorite fandom ship. Since her husband challenged her to write her own book, she’s been pulling all-nighters, slugging wine, and perfecting her craft one book at a time.
Liana has an English degree from the University of Arizona. When she’s not writing books featuring unexpected characters, witty heroes, and intrepid heroines, Liana is a wannabe domestic goddess and fashionista who wrangles her rambunctious brood of small children with her p
atient husband in Arizona.
Visit her at www.lianainbloom.com.
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