“I would gladly do so, if your father would leave my father’s estate and titles alone.”
“Not an option, boy.” Norland’s amused smile showed his greed. “If you back out, I will take everything.”
“Arundel,” Ashby said with a lazy drawl, “Miss Parker’s reputation will be secured in a marriage. She has refused Charles, but I committed to Lord Anthony I would find her a suitable match.”
“Is there anything more?” Phillip asked, turning away.
“You and Olivia will be married at the same time as your brother and his intended. We will obtain a special license to skip the banns.”
Phillip needed to be alone. He didn’t trust himself to speak. He didn’t excuse himself. He slowly stood and walked to the door.
“Arundel?” Phillip turned as Olivia said his name. “May I speak with you?”
“Not right now.” He didn’t trust himself to stay calm.
“It won’t take long,” Olivia insisted.
Phillip let out an angry sigh and relented. He turned back to hear what she had to say, but she looked nervously at her parents and motioned to the door. “In private, please?”
“Don’t leave the house, Arundel.” Ashby’s tone communicated the dangerous consequences if he did. Phillip nodded and left the room. He didn’t need any more bruises.
He cringed and held back the surprise when Olivia grabbed his arm and pulled him to the parlor. Her grip irritated the bruises on his arm. She looked around to make certain they were alone and then closed the door. Phillip walked over to open it because he didn’t want to be alone with her, but she put her hand on the doorknob.
“What do you want?” He could’ve been nicer, but he wasn’t in a generous mood.
“I’ve done everything I can to get out of the engagement. I can’t do it alone. I need your help.”
Phillip didn’t know what inspired him. Perhaps it was the word alone, but he realized a way they could get out of the engagement. They had to work together. If they both walked away from the engagement, neither one of their fathers could take the other’s wealth. “It was foolish of you and Folly to obtain a forgery.”
“I cannot apologize enough for my actions.” She hesitated as though she were considering her next statement. Olivia closed her eyes as she said, “Folly and I plan to leave for the States. I no longer care about my reputation.”
“What do you need from me?”
“Money.” She blushed as the word flew from her mouth. “My allowance has been suspended, and Folly’s father is bankrupt.”
“I will give you everything I have.”
Olivia laughed. “We don’t need everything you have, Arundel. Just enough to run away.”
It was a strange moment, almost surreal as he laughed with her. He never thought he’d find a way to become friendly or even civil with her. “For now, we should pretend to consign ourselves to the fate of marriage. Stop arguing and fighting.”
“Do you not think our fathers would be suspicious of us?”
“No, they want us to get along. They would be happy if we stopped fighting. It would make them both feel secure.”
Olivia nodded her agreement. “Therefore, give them a false sense of security with their wealth.”
“Exactly!” Phillip said with a smile. “Olivia, I’m not going to let you run away. We’ll get out of this engagement together and take responsibility together.” He waited for her to agree before he let her leave.
Phillip and Olivia agreed to be charming and talkative the entire evening.
“You look happy tonight. Have you lost your mind?” Edward asked with a curious yet amused look on his face.
“I’ve decided I can spend the rest of my life being angry, or I can learn to be happy in my circumstances.”
“I’m glad you’ve realized this.”
Phillip’s heart stopped as he saw Emma approach. He had to conceal anger and pain. His future with her was at stake.
Phillip turned away as Olivia approached. He noticed her beauty but acknowledged she would never be as beautiful as Emma. He could consider Olivia a friend.
“Olivia, would you like a drink?”
“Thank you.”
He saw the surprise on everyone’s faces as he and Olivia spoke cordially with each other. Neither one did anything to provoke the other. He returned with a glass of punch and handed it to her.
“What have you been talking about?” Phillip asked so he could join the conversation.
“We are wondering what’s going on with you.”
Phillip and Olivia looked at each other and smiled. “We are preparing for our upcoming nuptials.”
Olivia gave a sweet smile. “We will spend the rest of our lives together. We should be kind and get along.”
Phillip held an arm out as dinner was announced. Olivia took it and gave him a charming smile. He led her from the stunned group into the dining room and helped her with her chair. He made certain his mother had them seated together so they could continue the charade.
Phillip noticed Ashby and Norland were watching them. He and Olivia continued the happy deception throughout the meal.
When the women left the men to their entertainment, Edward and Charles crossed the room and pushed him in a corner.
“Speak. Now,” Edward demanded. “What is going on with you?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You’ve been lovesick and moping around here for months. You and Olivia now look like a happy couple. Edward spoke as though he were trying to explain a simple situation to someone who’d gone insane.
“I can’t continue to be lovesick. This isn’t a novel, and I’ve been told I don’t live in Verona.”
“Now you sound like Ashby,” Charles said. “Emma is distraught.”
“I don’t want to hurt Emma.” No matter how secretive he had to be, he didn’t want Emma to become even more of a casualty of this mess. In a moment of weakness, he admitted, “I will always love Emma.” He gave a nervous laugh as though he were barely holding it together. “I’ll have to pretend to be happy for the rest of my life.”
Charles looked down at his hands. “I’m sorry.”
Phillip nodded. “Let me get through the next week, and I’ll let you know how I’m going to handle the rest of my life.” He looked around. He wanted to escape to the library but remembered the promise he made to Olivia. He had to last the night.
When he walked into the drawing room with the rest of the women, Phillip joined Olivia and spent the evening with her. They chatted with guests and acted as though they were happy about the wedding. When he made it to his bedchamber, he was exhausted from the deception. He continued to have pain in his stomach, which caused him to wretch into the chamber pot. He was convinced the pain from the last beating would last a while yet.
Thirty-three
Emma looked out the window of the carriage as Wentworth Hall came into view. The size of the home was overwhelming. She thought the home looked sad covered in snow and an overcast sky. Or, perhaps it was her perception of the home because she was dying inside and could hear herself screaming internally. The screaming was loud; Emma was surprised everyone in the carriage couldn’t hear the sound.
She decided on the trip from London she wasn’t going to marry. She would go home to Springhill Abby after the double wedding and become a spinster. She hadn’t told her family yet, as her father and Ashby were plotting a marriage for her. She was waiting for the right moment.
The last week watching Phillip with Olivia put a hole in her heart she knew would never heal. She watched as they danced at Almack’s. She watched as they spent every moment together. Charles and Edward were convinced Phillip had lost his mind.
Emma shivered as the carriage door opened and cold air rushed in. Charles and Edward met the carriage and helped Emma and Anne o
ut. She appreciated the attentiveness and kindness to her.
Emma found her way to her room and spent the rest of the day by herself. She wandered around the house looking at paintings, family portraits, and the architecture. She stayed out of the family rooms but was told there was a library in the east wing, and she wanted to explore. The empty halls were eerie as she walked by herself. The dark halls looked like they weren’t used unless the house was full of guests.
Guests would start arriving in large numbers the following day, as there were four days left before the weddings. She was about to give up the search for the library and go back to her room when she heard Phillip’s voice. She didn’t want to eavesdrop, but she was curious.
Emma walked forward and noticed she was standing outside Phillip’s room. She was surprised when she heard Lady Olivia’s voice. Emma put a hand over her mouth as she let out a soft gasp. She turned and ran down the hall. She didn’t understand what they were doing. She could only imagine what was happening.
Thirty-four
Phillip helped Olivia mount a mare. He led both the mare and Bassanio out of the barn before he mounted. He and Olivia planned to put on a show of familiarizing themselves before the wedding, and so they set out for a ride. Phillip looked at Olivia as he readied to leave the yard. “Lord Folly is already installed at the cottage. We will meet him there.”
It took a half-hour before they found Folly. He was waiting near the crossroads.
“We need to hurry,” Folly said as he mounted his horse.
“It will take a few hours to ride to Gretna Green,” Phillip said as he considered staying behind. The plan was he would accompany them for propriety, but it seemed ridiculous since they were eloping. He’d woken with a stomachache and hadn’t been able to shake it. Each time the horse cantered, it shook his body and caused pain. “I should stay at the cottage while you go.”
“Arundel,” Olivia said with a start, “you have to come with us. What if someone finds out you are at the cottage? George and I will be found out and the plan will fail.”
He sighed. She was correct. He nodded agreement and followed. He rode in silence. For hours the movement of the horse sent pain through his side. He put an arm over his stomach and leaned into the pain, as it was the best way to stop an ache.
After hours of riding, he witnessed the marriage of Olivia and Folly in a blacksmith’s shop. They stood behind an anvil and were united by the priest through a handfasting. Phillip paid the man as soon as the hammer hit the anvil. He paid for a meal and two rooms at the local inn and waited while Folly and Olivia sealed their marriage. Phillip thought about eating but decided he’d be sick if he did. Instead he drank a bit of water and slept while he waited.
The scandal to ensue would be delightful to watch, he thought, as they rode back to Wentworth Hall. Olivia and Folly were married, and he was now a free man. They just had to inform their parents of their actions.
“Everything will work the way it should,” Olivia said as he helped her dismount in the barn. Folly was hiding back at the cottage.
“I don’t know how we are supposed to tell our parents,” he said as he led both horses to their stalls.
“We will tell them tomorrow during the morning meal. As long as we stick together, all will be fine. We both did this. We are both to blame for the ending of the engagement.” Olivia spoke the words, but her face showed her fear.
When he joined the dinner party, Phillip wished he’d stayed in his bedchamber to rest. The trip to Gretna Green took too much out of him. He’d never had pain from a beating last for more than a day or two. He walked toward Emma to speak with her and stopped when he saw the look on her face. He inched closer, wondering what she was thinking.
Emma didn’t look angry. If he could put a word to the glare she gave him, it would be disgust. Phillip had to find out what the problem was. He decided to talk to her about the library.
“Have you had a chance to visit the libraries here?”
Emma scowled, “No.”
“Have I done something to make you upset with me?”
“Yes.”
“Will you tell me what I’ve done?”
Emma looked uncomfortable. She blushed and he experienced joy at seeing her cheeks turn pink.
“Why are you smiling?”
“I haven’t seen you blush like this since we were at Springhill Abby.”
“Don’t speak about it.”
He stopped smiling as he realized she was furious with him.
“Tell me what I’ve done to make you angry.”
“I saw you and Lady Olivia in the east wing this morning.” She whispered to not be overheard.
“You saw a conversation, Emma. We needed a place where we wouldn’t be overheard.”
“I don’t want to hear your reasons. You’ll be married to her this week. Whatever you did or didn’t do will be covered up once you are married.” She turned from him. “I do not think I ever loved you.”
Phillip saw hatred in her eyes. Or at least he thought it was hatred. Her green eyes flared in the candlelight. He knew it would be a matter of hours before she understood. At least he hoped she would understand when morning came and all was revealed. But hearing her denial of loving him hurt. He knew she didn’t mean it, but feeling as ill as he did, it was hard not to internalize her words.
Phillip went to his bedchamber after speaking with Emma. He couldn’t bring himself to stay in the drawing room with her looking at him with so much hatred. When Thomas came by to help him undress for the night, he accepted the water Thomas brought and then sent him away. Phillip drank the water, hoping it would calm his stomach. He was nervous. Instead of receiving a calming effect, Phillip found himself bent over the chamber pot. When he finished vomiting, he slipped from his room and made his way to the west exit. Folly met him there.
Phillip led Folly up to the second floor and tapped on Olivia’s door. Folly slipped into the room, and Phillip turned to leave. He saw movement from the corner of his eye and cringed as he saw he’d waken Emma, whose room happened to be next to Olivia’s. He wanted to explain to her, but she scowled at him and went back in before he could speak.
When Phillip entered the dining room the following morning, he stumbled in the doorway. He was tired. I need to sleep more, he thought. He tortured himself by gazing at Emma to see her snub him. She didn’t spare a glance in his direction. It would take time, but he would mend the parts of their relationship he had broken.
He sat at the table and allowed Thomas to bring his plate. He had taken one bite of the ill-tasting eggs when Olivia’s maid came running into the dining room. “Your Grace,” she shouted to Norland and his wife, “my lady, Olivia. It’s . . . it’s . . . terrible.”
Phillip attempted to keep a straight face. Folly promised he’d leave by the side door before morning so Phillip and Olivia could explain her elopement to Norland. From the bumbling lady’s maid, he realized everything hadn’t gone as planned.
“What are you going on about, girl?” Norland yelled.
“My lady has . . . has . . . ” The poor girl couldn’t get the words out as her face turned scarlet. Olivia burst into the room followed by Lord Folly.
Phillip noticed the panicked look she sent his way. He knew he had to play his part well no matter how sick he was feeling.
“What is he doing here?” Norland shouted flying out of his chair.
Phillip didn’t dare look at Emma. He didn’t want to hope she’d give him anything but a glare.
“Father—”
Phillip stood with great effort. His stomach was in knots. “Your Grace,” he said, looking at Norland, “yesterday afternoon, Olivia and I met Lord Folly by the crossroads and they were married in Gretna Green. As you can see from the situation this morning, they not only participated in a handfasting, but they consummated their marriage.”
Norland looked at Phillip. “What is your part in this?”
Phillip reached into his pocket and extracted the marriage certificate. “I paid the anvil priest, I paid for an afternoon lodging in Gretna Green, and I witnessed their union.”
Norland snatched the license from his hand. Phillip was elated as he heard Norland’s muffled reading of the form.
Norland turned on Phillip. “You’ve ruined my daughter!”
“No, Father,” Olivia said, entering further into the dining room. “I ruined myself by going to Gretna Green. I was part of the plan. If you want to put blame somewhere, put it on yourself and Ashby.”
Norland spluttered unintelligible words as he stood in shock.
Ashby burst into laughter as Phillip knew he would. “I win, Norland. I win! Get ready to hand over everything.”
Phillip knew Ashby would lose his temper, but he put a finger up to finish the rest of the speech. “Olivia and I realized last week if we stopped working against each other and started working together we could outwit Norland and Ashby. Neither of you win. Norland keeps his wealth, and Ashby keeps his.”
Ashby glared at him. “What do you mean, boy?”
Phillip prepared himself for his father’s reaction. He steadied himself as he waited for the blow. When it didn’t come, he continued, “Olivia and Folly came up with the idea to run away. I never would’ve suggested it due to the fragility of reputations. But I financed the entire endeavor. Instead of agreeing to let them run off to the States or the continent, I convinced them to accept responsibility and come back here after the elopement. Folly and Olivia can live off her dowry, and I have agreed to help them if necessary.”
Ashby stood at the head of the table, seething. Phillip hadn’t ever seen his father brought to this much anger. He had a moment where he feared strangulation, but the moment passed as Ashby looked around the room. Phillip was thankful he chose to give the information in front of the group with people other than his family.
The Earl of Arundel (Earls of England Book 1) Page 20
