“Smile, Giselle. I won’t have my bridesmaid feeling unhappy. You must have fun. For me. I won’t get through it if I don’t have your strength to lean on.”
“Yes, Mademoiselle. I will be happy for your sake.”
“If you cry, I will cry.” Mimi smiled.
The two women embraced, and the carriage slowed. They were getting nearer to the Church.
The villagers waited to see the carriage pull up. They wanted to see the bride, and they oohed and aahed as she was escorted down from the carriage by the footman.
The members of the ton that had been invited were mostly inside the Church, so Mimi waved and smiled to the villagers who lined the road and milled about on the outskirts of the open space at the front of the Church. She spied Mr Warren and Lavinia near the entryway of the Church and waved. They smiled and went inside.
Mimi’s stomach was full of butterflies. William, the footman walked her up to the Church door, bowed and walked back to the carriage to await his instructions after the ceremony.
Inside the Church, people were moving here and there, gossiping, chatting, and comparing the latest fashions the women were festooned in. When Mimi appeared at the door, the room hushed.
She looked like an angel, and even the nasty ladies who wouldn’t accept Mimi into their circle had to look to each other, nodding and murmuring. The soon-to-be Duchess was radiant. There was no denying it. The women had suddenly become aware of what it was about Mimi that had so charmed the Duke that he would marry a common tradesman’s daughter.
She walked down the aisle greeting those still standing and waving to others. Once she reached the front and stood at the altar, she glanced towards Hertford who had watched her as she walked towards him.
He smiled and stepped forward taking both of her hands within his, and then raised one to his lips.
Outside there sounded some noise that the playing of the organ mostly drowned out. No one seemed too distracted by it, so entranced were they by the beauty of the bride and the charm of the Duke.
*******
Richard had halted Tilly at the top of the hill that looked down over the Church. He watched as Mimi went inside and was followed by some of the guests. Most of the townspeople of Isleworth stood outside or sat on oil cloths they’d brought to spread across the grass waiting for the bride and groom to come out after the ceremony.
He put Tilly to a canter and descended to the front of the churchyard. He dismounted and tied the reins to the fence that surrounded the Church. He stepped forward to enter the yard.
“Who goes there?” A tall young man in the antiquated style of coat, knee breeches, and powdered wig of a footman stepped in front of Richard, blocking his way.
“I am Richard Warren.” He left off the Lieutenant as he had quit the army and received back the money that had been used to purchase his commission. He was not in uniform, but if there had ever been a time for it to have come in handy, his former rank of Lieutenant would have come in handy.
The tall footman looked him up and down and glanced at his twin brother, dressed identically in hunter green and ochre as the second half to the pair they made. They had been the most sought after footmen in Isleworth and London, and as soon as the Duke had laid eyes on them, they’d been solicited away from the very nice arrangement they’d had in the livery of a very wealthy landowner by the name of Thomas Carnaby. The appointment by the Duke had been one the brothers could not afford to turn down.
When both footmen barred his way to the Church entrance, Richard loudly asked why he, as an old friend of the Hancock family, was not to be allowed to be present for the wedding vows of the Duke and Miss Hancock.
“Sir, we are under strict orders to keep anyone not on the list of invitees away from the Church. Now, as you can see, a great many revellers are picnicking over there under the trees, enjoying dinner from the hampers they’ve brought along.”
“You don’t seem to understand. I’ve been in the United States for a year. The Hancocks do not know I am here. Please, allow me to speak with Mrs Hancock. You will see that I speak truthfully.”
“I’m most sorry, Mr Warren. You will have to wait over there on the grass with the others who weren’t invited.”
“I will do no such thing.” Richard stepped forward, pushing the man aside. The other footman, the brother, took Richard’s arm and pulled it, twisting it behind his back.
“That will be enough, Mr Warren. We are acting on the orders of Duke Hertford. Besides, the Church doors are closed. The service has begun.”
Richard pulled his arm away from the man and rubbed it.
“Right this way, Mr Warren.”
“I have no need of your escort.” Richard stepped back from the footmen and turned to Tilly. He mounted and rode slowly away.
There had to be a way to get inside the Church, and it had to be quick. The actual vows would not be said right away. There was still a little time. Richard rode down the road a bit and turned Tilly into the woods. He tied the horse to a tree and moved to the edge of the forest’s tree line where he had a good view of the lovely white country Church. He had to find a way to get in without the people outside seeing him. He couldn’t take the chance that they might alert the footmen and the other men in attendance.
He moved his body slowly in a semicircle around to the back of the Church. The gravestones in the churchyard would help to camouflage his movement. He was aware that the revelling villagers would have their eyes mainly on the front of the Church to get a good glimpse of the bride when she came out.
He moved quickly and quietly from one stone to the other, ducking and crouching down as he moved towards the back door of the Church. From the last stone he hid behind, Richard had about the length of four carriages to the door. He took a deep breath, peeked out from behind the stone and looked both ways. He saw no one. Taking another breath, he made a bolt for the door. He stood outside it, breathing heavily. He realised he’d been holding his breath for the duration of his approach through the churchyard.
He tried the door. It budged, and he pushed it open a little to admit himself. He stepped into the cool dimness of the tiny room at the back of the building and made his way, quickly, towards the main room. There was a plain wooden door that led to the space at the side of the altar.
He quietly opened the door and stepped through it. The first person he laid eyes on was Marie in the front pew. She looked at him with wide eyes, and her lips formed a perfect O as her eyelids fluttered, and she quickly lowered her gaze.
Hertford and Mimi were standing in front of the Pastor as the waiting congregation finished the hymn they were singing.
The Pastor greeted the congregation. He would begin the marriage vows imminently. Richard stepped forward to the middle aisle. The Duke glanced his way. And Mimi looked as if she would faint.
“My good man. This is a wedding ceremony. Please, step to the side or have a seat.” The Pastor smiled with the look of one who is not accustomed to being disobeyed.
“I wish to say something.”
“As I said, this is a wedding, good man. Now please. Have a seat.” The pastor’s smiled was growing increasingly strained.
“I’ll do no such thing. I ... I wish to protest this marriage.” Richard turned around in a circle as he spoke so that everyone present could hear him.
The Duke balled his fists at his sides and looked at the Pastor. “You must put an end to this sham. At once. I insist upon it.”
The Pastor puffed his chest out. “You are to leave the Church premises, my good man. This is a private affair.”
“I will not leave. I must be allowed to speak. It involves the bride.”
A collective gasp went through the congregation. Everyone began looking at one another and all around. The shocked murmurings increased until the Pastor spoke loudly.
“Please. Please, everyone. Quiet down. Remember yourselves.” He turned to Richard, “What do you mean coming here like this?”
“I will have
my men escort you away from here this instant.” The Duke looked to the back of the Church where his twin footmen had stationed themselves after having got rid of Richard earlier and gestured for them to come forward.
“Let me have my say, and I will be gone.” Richard gazed at Mimi who had tears in her eyes.
The Pastor took the Duke aside and had a brief, whispered conversation. When they turned back to face the gathering, the Pastor announced that Richard would be allowed to speak.
Chapter 23
Richard looked around the congregation at each and every face. He knew only a few, and there was only one he was interested in seeing again.
He cleared his throat and stayed standing where he was.
“For those of you who don’t know me, I am Richard Warren, formerly of London by way of Cambridge. I mean no disrespect to God, the Pastor, or this congregation. I mean no disrespect to the lovely Miss Hancock or our esteemed Duke of Hertford.”
Hertford rolled his eyes, but Richard continued. “It is with the utmost sincerity and humility that I find myself in the position to speak out against this marriage.”
Again a murmur coursed through the assembled guests. Again the Pastor called for civility then questioned Richard.
“Why Mr Warren? For what reason do you wish to speak out against the union of Miss Hancock and Duke Hertford?”
“I am in love with Miss Hancock.”
The people of the congregation, yet again, were beside themselves. What was going on? Why did the Duke’s men do nothing? Why did the Pastor entertain the desires of this interloper in their midst?
Mimi’s eyes met Richard’s again. Her hand went to her throat.
“And, Miss Hancock is in love with me.”
“That will be enough, Warren.” The Duke gestured his men, who stood nearby, to remove Richard from the Church.
“You can remove me, Your Grace, but it changes nothing. You are about to marry a woman who loves another.
The footmen began to half pull, half drag Richard down the middle aisle towards the Church’s front doors. The Duke followed the trio to the entry room at the back of the Church. While his men held Richard immobile, the Duke spoke low and quiet in Richard’s ear.
“You are to leave here at once. Do you understand? If it’s money you want, I will give you however much you ask. But, get away now. Do you understand?”
Richard tried to shake free of the footmen. “I will do nothing of the sort. You know Mimi loves me. You only want her as a pretty ornament to grace your arm. You cannot buy me off, Hertford. I don’t need your money.”
“That would be Your Grace, Warren.” The Duke looked at his men. “Get him out of here. This instant. Now.” He turned his back to head back into the main room of the Church.
“You haven’t heard the last of me, Hertford,” Richard snarled, and the footmen pushed him out the Church doors in front of them. He sprawled on his stomach but not before his bad leg hit the doorframe as he was pushed.
Mimi, in the meantime, had gone to the back door of the Church, the one Richard had entered from. Everyone was focused on the Duke and Richard so she was able to get outside unseen. She skirted along the side of the building and reached the front of the Church just as the Duke made his way back inside.
She stayed at the side of the Church hidden behind a trellis of ivy. A crowd had formed out front by this time, and Richard was hidden from her view by the villagers. She craned her neck and saw Kirby, the groom, come riding up at breakneck speed. He pulled the horse to a stop and was down and moving towards Richard in a moment’s time.
She heard Richard speak. “Kirby. How did you get here just in the nick of time?” He tried to smile, though he winced with pain. A dark stain of blood showed itself upon his pantaloon leg. The stain grew, and Kirby tore a length of fabric from the bottom of his white cotton shirt and wrapped it around the leg in a makeshift bandage.
Richard put his head back in an effort not to give into the pain and saw Mimi wave from her hiding place. He nudged Kirby. They hadn’t seen her until that moment. Richard gestured with his eyes for her to make her way back into the churchyard.
The Duke stood in the doorway and summoned his men back inside the Church. Richard stood straight and tall and looked around at each and every person standing outside then made his way through them towards the road. He knew all eyes would follow him. There wasn’t much time.
*******
While the townspeople stood around, open mouthed, and uncomprehending, Kirby made his way to the woods at the back of the Church. He helped Mimi onto Tilly and told her to wait. Then he went back to the road where Richard stood by his mount, Blackie.
“Mr Warren, I will mount in front of you. Lean against me.” Kirby glanced back and didn’t see Mimi. “We’ll go the back way, Mr Warren. Can you handle the pain?”
“I can. But we’d better hurry. If this leg needs attending, we must get back to London. The town doctor here is inside the Church. He will not insult the Duke.” Richard’s words slurred.
“Mr Warren, do you think you can make the ten miles to London?”
There was no answer. Richard had lost consciousness. Kirby walked the horse back towards the end of the churchyard. No one noticed as he dipped into the woods to meet Mimi.
“Let us go back to Temple Abbey. I don’t believe the Duke will go there. At least that’s what I’m praying.” Mimi frowned. “Even if he does, he won’t think we’re there. We will hide in plain sight. You must hide Tilly in the old stable.”
Kirby nodded. “Yes, Miss Hancock. Let us be on our way then.”
Mimi looked behind them as they started out. Marie had gone to search for her daughter and stood alone among those outside the Church. She discreetly waved to her daughter. Mimi waved then turned and rode forward.
They rode as quickly as they could and in silence. When they got to the Abbey, they went immediately back to the stables where Kirby handed the horses off to the stable boy. He hoisted Richard over his shoulder, and Mimi led the way into the house.
“If we stay downstairs, even if the Duke comes back, he will not find us. He never goes downstairs.”
“Right. Well, then where do you want him, Miss Hancock?” Kirby was feeling the weight of his employer.
“Here. In Jones’s old room. Bring him in and place him on the bed. I think Nancy keeps her herb remedies in the kitchen. I must run up to my chamber and change frocks.”
“We can head back to London after dark if you’re sure Mr Warren is safe here until then.”
“Yes. Be as quiet as possible. Please.”
When Mimi came back, she was in a different dress with a pelisse over her arm and carrying a small bag with another change of clothes. She threw the things on a chair and went to Richard who was conscious and resting in the chair near the fireplace.
Kirby was applying an unguent he’d found in the kitchen to the injured leg, and Richard winced and hissed as the ointment touched his scarred skin.
Mimi gasped when she saw Richard’s injured leg. “Oh my darling. Is this what the war did to you? This and your distracted moments? The times when you are so far inside of awful thoughts that you forget where you are? I am so very sorry.”
His eyes opened slowly. “Mimi. I never wanted you to see my ... this.” He gestured towards the leg.
“Does it pain you greatly, Richard?”
“Not as bad as it used to pain me. My exercise regimen has helped to rebuild the muscle. The limp is barely perceptible.”
“It’s my fault. You never would have gone away with the army if my mother and I had stayed in London.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Mimi. It couldn’t be helped. After Mr Hancock died, your mother was grieving. You were grieving too. Time was not with us, my darling. As much as I loved you, the fates would not have us be together at that time.”
“Richard, I have always loved you.”
“I wrote to you. I sent a note telling you of my love for you. But you never answe
red it. That was when I made the decision to go to America.”
“I thought you went to America because you didn’t care for me. I never received your note. It doesn’t matter anymore, though. We have finally been brought back to each other. We are finally reunited. Our love has overcome any impediments to our happiness.”
“Yes it has. I care for you Mimi. So much that I sailed back here to find you and ask your mother for your hand. I arrived in London at six o’clock this morning, and Mrs Reilly alerted me to your impending nuptials.”
“What will we do now?” Reality was starting to settle in.
“If you will accept my proposal of marriage, we will make our way to Gretna Green to avoid the reading of the banns and waiting for three weeks. We can sail to America out of Liverpool, and you will come to Savannah with me and be the lady of my grand plantation house. Warren Hall.”
The Lost Love of a Stunning Lady: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 24
