London Season Matchmaker Box Set: Regency Romance

by Lucy Adams

  Edward let out a long breath, relieved that Titania was not only safe but still showing the same strength as she had done before.

  “I will tackle him,” he mouthed to Lady Whitehaven, wondering if he should tell her about the pistol that was within the depths of his jacket. “Have the footmen stand guard. Lord Huckleby cannot be allowed to escape.”

  Lady Whitehaven nodded, her face ashen as Edward placed one hand on the door handle, preparing to enter the room and finally capture the one man he had been seeking for so long.

  “Then your body shall be discovered here, in this very room, with the button left beside you,” he heard Lord Huckleby say, his skin prickling as he heard the man refer to the buttons that had been left for Edward to discover each time he had narrowly missed capturing Ravel before. “Lord Carroway will know that he has failed again and that, this time, he has lost more than ever before.”

  In a moment, Edward threw open the door and stepped inside, his eyes capturing the scene in front of him. Titania was sitting on the couch, her back straight and her hands clenched tightly in her lap, whilst Lord Huckleby was leaning over her, although he had now turned to see who had stepped inside.

  “I have not lost anything yet,” Edward stated angrily. “Now step away from Miss Wells and face me alone, Ravel. The time for your reckoning has come.”

  For a moment, no one moved. No one spoke. Even the candle on the table did not seem to flicker. Edward kept his gaze fixedly on Lord Huckleby, seeing the man frown, his eyes calculating as he took in what was occurring.

  “It seems you have discovered me, Carroway,” Lord Huckleby said slowly, turning a little more to face Edward. “What a shame. I was just about to leave this place with Miss Wells, and it seems as though you have stepped into our plans.”

  “Leave my daughter alone.”

  Edward did not move but saw Lord Huckleby flinch at the sound of Lady Whitehaven’s commanding voice.

  “You shall not escape, Huckleby,” the lady continued, her voice filling the room. “There are footmen here ready to capture you should you even attempt it. You have nowhere to go.”

  Frowning, Edward saw the sudden darkness cross Lord Huckleby’s face, a slight note of panic in his eyes. This was the first time, it seemed, that the man had found himself in such a situation. A situation where there seemed no simple way of escape – and Edward found himself growing tense as he watched Lord Huckleby. The man could do something foolish and endanger Titania further. Slowly, he let his gaze travel towards her, seeing her looking back at him with such a longing in her eyes that it was all he could do to hold himself back from going to her. Tilting his head slowly to the left, he tried to make her understand that she needed to move out of Lord Huckleby’s reach entirely, whilst his attention was taken up with Edward. She seemed to understand, beginning to shift along the couch with infinitesimal slowness that strained Edward’s taut nerves further still.

  “Why work for the French, Huckleby?” Edward asked suddenly, wanting to distract the man from Titania all the more. Behind him, another footman stepped into the room, holding a candelabra which lit up the room a good deal more and allowed Edward to study Lord Huckleby a little more closely. He was frowning hard, his eyes sweeping about the room as though trying to find some way to escape from what was an impossible situation.

  “The French gave me more than this country ever has, Carroway,” Lord Huckleby spat, his eyes never resting on Edward for more than a moment. “More wealth, more prestige, more land. It is all waiting for me in France, but I could only take possession of it once the situation with the royal family had been set up. You were the only reason I was foiled.” In saying this, he turned around to glare at Titania, who had been poised to fling herself from the couch and behind a chair, and in that moment, everything changed.

  With a shout of rage, Lord Huckleby threw his arm out and grasped Titania, dragging him to her and with his other hand, he tugged a knife from his waistband.

  “Let her go, Ravel!” Edward shouted, taking a step closer, only for Lord Huckleby to throw his arm around Titania’s neck instead of holding her arm, tugging her close against him and pressing the tip of the knife to her neck.

  “No, please!” Lady Whitehaven’s voice was filled with terror and desperation, obviously afraid that Lord Huckleby would kill her daughter.

  Lord Huckleby’s expression had grown darker than Edward had ever seen it. “This is all because of you,” he grated, his cheek pressed hard against Titania as his arm tightened about her neck. Titania let out a moan and began to tug hard at his arm with both hands, but Lord Huckleby simply pressed the knife against her neck again and she stopped struggling.

  Edward was impotent, unable to step forward and free Titania from Lord Huckleby’s threatening embrace. He had promised Lady Whitehaven and Titania that he would keep her safe this night, and he had completely and utterly failed. He had not seen that it was Lord Huckleby, who was Ravel; he had missed the evidence that Titania had so clearly seen. Swallowing hard, he gritted his teeth together, desperate to think of something he could say or do that would force Lord Huckleby to release Titania without harm.

  “You saw the murder and then stole the vial,” Lord Huckleby continued, his expression malignant. “I tried to get close to you, to make you my own so that I could keep you by my side as a willing and obedient wife – and so that I could find the vial, but you were determined to spur me. To look to him instead of to me.” This word was spat from Lord Huckleby’s mouth, making Titania shudder violently. “If you had not done any such thing, then you might now be standing by my side as my wife. The wife of an earl.”

  “And what folly that would have been,” Titania whispered, looking into Edward’s eyes as she spoke. “I do not care for you, Lord Huckleby. My heart belongs to Lord Carroway, who is both honorable and genteel. You do not even have the right to stand near to him.”

  Lord Huckleby let out a harsh laugh and shook his head. “But yet, Miss Wells, you shall find that I am the one who has the greater intelligence, the greater wit. For even in what appears to be a most precarious situation, I am able to find a way to extricate myself from it. Although, my dear, it seems that you shall have to come with me.”

  “No!” Titania exclaimed, attempting to twist away from Lord Huckleby but she was stopped from doing so by the threat of the knife. “I shall not go with you.”

  Lord Huckleby chuckled darkly. “I do not think that you have much choice, Miss Wells,” he said brusquely. “Now, Carroway. Step aside and ensure that this door is cleared for me. If anyone attempts to stop me, then I fear that Miss Wells here will be the one enduring the consequences.”

  Edward swallowed hard, unable to find a way out of the present situation and seeing no other choice but for them to do as Lord Huckleby asked. Glancing behind him, he saw that Lady Whitehaven’s gaze was fixed solely on her daughter, her eyes wide as she stepped away from the door. The footmen went with her, leaving only Edward in Lord Huckleby’s way.

  “If you care for this young lady at all, you will do as I ask,” Lord Huckleby said, his voice low and menacing. “Move from my path, Carroway.”

  Edward did not so much as look at him, his gaze resting on Titania’s gentle features and seeing the way her emerald eyes glittered with a sudden fierce determination. Her hair was tumbling down from its confines, her breathing ragged and her neck red from where the knife was still pressed against it, but as he looked at her, he saw just how her jaw set and her eyes narrowed.

  She was about to make an attempt at an escape and Edward knew he had to be ready.

  “This shall not end well for you, Ravel,” he said, addressing Lord Huckleby and pulling his attention from Titania. “No matter where you go, you will be discovered. You forget that the truth of your identity is now known. Nowhere in England will be safe for you. You shall have to run from this place, trying to find a hovel where you can rest in safety.”

  Lord Huckleby laughed, his lip curling with scorn. �
�You fool,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “The French will welcome me back.”

  “But you shall have none of what you promised, since you have failed in your attempts to overthrow the monarchy,” Edward countered, seeing the knife was no longer pressed against Titania’s neck as Lord Huckleby fixed his narrowed gaze upon Edward. “Your plans have come to naught, Ravel. What shall you do?”

  Lord Huckleby took a small step forward, as though to say something in retaliation, and it was then that Titania moved. Lowering her head, she caught Ravel’s arm with her teeth and bit down, hard. A yelp of surprise and pain came from Lord Huckleby’s mouth, and he staggered back, losing his footing and allowing Titania to twist away from him.

  Lady Whitehaven gasped, hurrying forward to her daughter and, in that moment, Edward moved. Seeing Lord Huckleby regain his balance and stare with murderous intent towards Titania, he pulled the pistol from his jacket and, in another moment, the sound of a retort rang through the room.

  Everything seemed to stop. Titania and Lady Whitehaven froze in place, their hands reaching out to each other. The footmen who had moved forward to grab at Lord Huckleby stopped dead, their eyes widening as Lord Huckleby stared down at the red beginning to blossom out from his chest.

  Edward’s shot had found its mark. Lord Huckleby began to fall back, his hand clutching at his chest. The man would not rise again, Edward knew. Ravel would soon be gone. The threat was at an end. He had achieved his goal.

  “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

  Edward stepped back to allow two men carrying the covered body of Lord Huckleby from the room. Lieutenant James had been sent for at once and had arrived with the greatest of speed, spurred on in the knowledge that Ravel had been discovered and, in the end, completely dealt with.

  “I am sorry for what you have had to endure, Carroway,” the lieutenant said, his eyes roving over the bruises that still marked Edward’s face. “But it seems you have brought this long chase to an end, and I confess that I am satisfied with that.”

  “As am I,” Edward admitted, his mind already going towards Titania, who had been taken from the room by Lady Whitehaven shortly after Lord Huckleby had been shot dead. “I think, Lieutenant, that I will need a short time away from the army. After all that I have endured, as you say, I feel it is necessary for me to recover away from London.”

  The lieutenant chuckled. “You have done your duty many times over, Carroway,” he said honestly, slapping Edward on the shoulder. “If you have decided to return to your estate and to begin your life as a titled gentleman, then I will have no hesitation in releasing you from your duties here.”

  Edward hesitated, wondering if he could truly live a fulfilling life without all that he had known for so long within it any longer.

  “You will find a new happiness with Miss Wells, I am quite certain of that,” the lieutenant said, as though he could read Edward’s mind. “You need not fear that you will be without excitement or purpose. Trust me, Carroway. Do not doubt what your heart tells you.”

  Edward nodded slowly, letting out a long breath and feeling a burden roll from his shoulders. “I thank you, Lieutenant,” he said softly. “I think I shall do just as you have suggested.”

  The lieutenant grinned. “Then may I suggest that you go to her, Carroway? I think she will be waiting for you.”

  Epilogue

  “It was rather an eventful evening, I confess it.”

  Titania glanced up into Lord Carroway’s face as they walked together, hardly believing that it had only been last evening that Lord Huckleby had finally been brought to his end. “Although I am glad to see that you have recovered.”

  “You are an astonishing young woman, Titania,” Lord Carroway murmured, placing his hand over hers as they walked together. “To have shown such strength and determination in the face of danger and even death…” He trailed off and shook his head, his admiration apparent, and Titania felt herself blush. “You must know just how highly I think of you.”

  Grateful that St. James’s Park was quiet enough for their conversation to go unheard, Titania allowed herself to speak freely. It was early morning, for neither of them had slept particularly well, and when he had sent a note requesting to call on her at her earliest convenience, Titania had not hesitated to ask him to come at once.

  “I must tell you, Carroway, that I feared more for you than for myself last evening. I knew just how desperately you needed to bring Ravel to his judgement,” she said softly, quietly thinking to herself that even Lord Carroway’s countenance had changed somewhat since last evening. He appeared much more at ease, no longer pulled down by the strain of what had weighed so heavily on his mind for so long. The lines were smoothed on his forehead, the lightness in his eyes never seen before. “I am glad that you are freed from your responsibility towards him.”

  “I am free from it all, Titania,” Lord Carroway replied, looking down at her. These words were said quietly, but Titania felt as though the ground beneath her was shaking, overcome by the gravitas of what he had said.

  “I have chosen to give it all up, Titania,” Lord Carroway continued, as though she had not understood the first time he had spoken. “After what happened with Ravel, I felt a great weight roll from my shoulders and, in doing that, I drew in a long breath and felt myself freed of it all.”

  Titania felt tears sting the corners of her eyes, but with an effort, she kept them from falling. She swallowed the aching lump in her throat, realizing just how much this meant to both Lord Carroway and to herself. “You have decided to give up your duties with the army?”

  He nodded, looking a trifle hesitant, as though he were unsure about sharing his innermost thoughts with her – but Titania felt her heart sing with a sudden, unexpected hope and pressed his arm in order to encourage him to continue. “I have chosen to look to a new life,” Lord Carroway said slowly, his voice now as gentle as his expression. “One that I never thought I would be grateful for, never thought that I would willingly choose, but ever since I laid eyes on you, Titania, I have found my mind and heart caught up with something entirely new.”

  Her heart began to quicken at the hope in his eyes.

  “I have spoken to the lieutenant, and he has agreed wholeheartedly to free me from my duties,” Lord Carroway said, turning to her and taking her hands in his, their walk forgotten. “My heart is no longer in such things. Instead, I seek to have a new life…with you.”

  Unable to help herself, Titania felt a single tear fall from her eye and land softly on her cheek. Lord Carroway’s expression changed from hope to horror in a single moment, and Titania could not help but laugh, pulling one hand from his and lifting it to his face.

  “These are tears of joy, my love,” she whispered, seeing him relax almost at once. “I do not cry for any other reason than that.”

  Lord Carroway closed his eyes, let out a long breath, and leaned forward so that his forehead rested on hers. Titania closed her eyes also, breathing him in. She had never been so close to a gentleman before; she had never felt this level of passion and hope. She could not hold herself back from it; she could not prevent herself from speaking of it. It had to be made known.

  “I love you desperately, Lord Carroway,” she whispered, letting go of his other hand so that she might cup his face with gentle hands. “Since the moment you saved me, since the moment you looked into my eyes and made me promise to remain silent about what I had seen, I found you entering my heart and refusing to leave it again. I have found myself longing for you, knowing that you will always protect me, always be by my side whenever I need you.” She drew a breath, the truth of her words bringing yet more joyous tears to her eyes. “I have none but you in my heart, Lord Carroway. I love you with such a desperation that I feel as though it will possess every part of me – and I find that I want it to do so.”

  There was a breath of silence between them for a moment and then, with utter abandonment, Lord Carroway leaned down and kissed her.

  His lips
were soft against her own and yet held her with such firmness that Titania did not feel as though she could ever recover from a moment such as this. Her arms went about his neck as she felt herself being clasped tightly against him, her heart yearning to never be set apart from him again.

  “I love you also, Titania,” Lord Carroway said against her mouth, brushing yet another kiss against her lips before stepping back and looking into her eyes. “That is why I have given up my life with the army. It is because I have found something wonderous with you, and I dare not turn away from it for fear that it will rip me apart.” He smiled at her and wiped her damp cheek with his thumb, his fingers running down the curve of her cheek before falling to take her hands in his once more. “I cannot be without you, Titania. From the first moment, you have bewitched me. I wish to share my life with you. I wish to take you to my estate as my wife so that we might make it our home. I want to discover a happiness that I have only just begun to see, have only just begun to feel. But more than all of that, Titania, I want to show you just how much you have captivated me, how you have stolen my heart. I will, if you will allow me, fill your every day with as much love and as much joy as I am able, for in you, I have found my everything.”

  Titania looked up into Lord Carroway’s eyes and found herself lost within his gaze. Here stood the gentleman she had fallen in love with, her gentleman spy, who was offering her his heart and his life in all its fullness.

  “I can think of nothing more joyous than being by your side as we traverse through this life together, Carroway,” she said honestly, feeling his hand tighten on hers. “Without you, I am quite lost. I will take my vows and make my promises before God and man, for the only thing I long for is to be your wife.”