A Marriage 0f Convenience_Historical Regency Romance

by Janet Woods

  ‘Never,’ and he placed his hand on his heart and planted a kiss on her upturned face. ‘You’re not being logical, my love. If the cat had been a male it wouldn’t have given birth to a litter of kittens, would it now?’

  ‘It had crossed my mind … as does the thought that there might be some fine trickery going on.’

  ‘Sleight of hand, do you mean?’

  ‘Are we really married? It happened so fast I can barely believe it.’

  He drew her away from the necessity of him providing an answer to that question with: ‘Poor Sam gained a godmother.’

  ‘And didn’t he splutter when the holy water splashed on his face. Mrs Hallam told him it was his sins being washed away.’

  ‘And he told the reverend he might become a priest now he was sinless.’

  ‘Then God help us,’ they both said together, and laughed.

  Dominic patted her hand and he grinned as he walked away, but nervously. What would she do when she realized the wedding had been almost entirely illegal, for Dominic didn’t live in the parish, the customary banns had not been read, and neither had they obtained a licence from the bishop.

  Like the reverend had said to him afterwards.

  ‘You must tell her as soon as the court papers are signed and accepted. No doubt Miss Ellis will understand your motive for the deception.’

  Would she, when he already felt guilty for lying to her.

  Twenty

  Ringwood

  After the carriage had carried Grace, Sam, and the basket of cats away, Dominic exchanged a glance with his brother.

  ‘I’m tired of waiting, Alex. I’m giving James Archibald and the brigadier until noon tomorrow when the Bonnie Kathleen is due to set sail. After that I’ll have Oakford House boarded up. In the meantime I’m going to prepare an account of what’s taken place here, to put before a magistrate.’

  ‘You can place the matter before me for a legal ruling.’

  Dominic shook his head. ‘I’ve already considered doing that because you’re conversant with the whole shabby affair. However, some might think you are biased. People talk, and they twist things, and I don’t want Gracie’s name dragged through the mud.’

  ‘Have you forgotten that your lady is one of the foremost claimants named in the will?’

  Dominic grinned. ‘How could I forget it? Gracie has signed a waiver, which was countersigned, first by myself and then by your estate manager. She isn’t claiming anything from Lady Florence’s estate, least of all the brigadier for a husband.’

  ‘Wedding and bedding the delightful Miss Ellis was a calculated move on your part, Dom, and I’ve noticed a beauty emerging from under those bruises. Nobody can accuse you of being short on intelligence but sometimes you can be downright manipulative. What plan do you have in mind?’

  ‘It’s the plan of having no plan at all. Make no mistake, Alex, I love Grace and I believe it when she says she loves me. If she changes her mind when she discovers she was tricked then I can only persuade her that it was for the best. I’m going to sit here for a while, get on with my work, and wait to see if something eventuates.’

  ‘Be careful, Dom, these are hardened villains you’re dealing with.’

  ‘Which is marginally better than freezing one’s balls off in the church tower. Though I admit the church is a good vantage point when the weather is clear. Once the mist rises, the view from there no longer exists.’ Dominic sighed. ‘Alex, all I want is some signatures on a sheet of paper so I can pass the will on to a court official. It’s a simple procedure yet the authorities of two counties have become involved and through their interference it’s now become a farce. It shouldn’t be this hard.

  ‘As for Gracie, I married her because I love her, and because I couldn’t bear the thought of her married to an old man. I admit that marriage fit rather neatly into the situation at the time, but it wasn’t as calculated as you imagine. It was a declaration of love on my part, and, as such, will be honoured when convenience allows.’

  ‘Reverend Hallam took some convincing, but as usual, money talked.’

  ‘Doesn’t it always.’

  ‘The tower doesn’t look like an easy place to escape from if a retreat was needed. I’m going over to the farm beyond the church to see if I can purchase some food,’ Dominic said.

  ‘I’ll do that, in case your clients arrive.’

  ‘Don’t be long because I can smell moisture in the air. It mists up early at this time of year, and it’s stealthy. It creeps out of the mud flats and fouls the air like stinking breath.’

  The truth was, Dominic was looking forward to returning home and getting back into his work routine. To all intents and purposes he now had a wife to care for, or almost. He could soon make it completely legal, something he was looking forward to. He must try to turn her away from becoming his clerk though, for he’d come to the conclusion that it would be too inhibiting for the other clerks. However, an idea was forming in the back of his mind.

  Alex returned from his forage looking pleased with himself. Hanging from his saddle to his right was a square canvas bag containing a loaf of bread, a pot of honey, cheese and some potatoes baked in their jackets. There were also lamb pasties, still warm from the oven – all neatly packed for ease of carrying and a minimum of damage to the containers. To distribute the weight on the horse and complete the purchase, the bag on the left contained a flask of brandy, a bottle of wine and a small keg of ale.

  Dominic gazed at the initials on the polished silver flask. They belonged to Lady Florence’s late husband. Dominic couldn’t remember seeing the flask at Oakford House when he and Gracie had carried out the inventory, but perhaps the former master of the house had gifted it to someone.

  He decided not to make a fuss about it for he had no wish to put himself to the bad of the people living here – people who had placed their trust in him. Not only for the sake of Lady Florence’s memory but now, for his Gracie.

  He felt a little niggle of disquiet when he thought of her. He should have kept her with him. If anything untoward happened to her now he’d never forgive himself. She was inclined to be impulsive and he hoped she reached King’s Acres without incident, or at the least, she didn’t create a situation that caused one, which was the more likely alternative.

  He turned to Alex. ‘It’s going to be cold tonight. You might as well stay in the house. I could certainly do with the company.’

  ‘You’re tired, Dom. Take some rest? I’ll call you if anything suspicious happens or visitors arrive.’

  ‘Just don’t shoot them before they have time to state their business. I don’t want a full-scale war on my hands.’

  It seemed to Dominic that he’d only just dropped off to sleep when he was woken by a shake to the shoulder.

  ‘The attorney, James Archibald, has arrived,’ Alex said.

  Dominic groaned and gazed at his watch, surprised to note that he’d been sleeping for an hour and a half. He could have done with more and he ached all over, the result of bending a long man into a short chaise longue he supposed. It was better than nothing though.

  He rose, cradled his back in his hands and worked his thumbs up and down his lower back muscles. Then he stretched until his spine clicked into its proper position. Tidying his clothes he made his way to the morning room and pulled a smile to his face. He held out his hand. ‘Mr Archibald, at last. I’d almost given up hope … welcome.’

  Poole

  The harbour town was all of a bustle and a stiff breeze coming off the water played havoc with the ladies’ skirts and the men’s tall hats alike. Grace’s escort found her a sitting room to share with another woman. As well as the tavern there was a ladies’ parlour that could be serviced by an inner door. Another door opened on to an outside courtyard and offered access from the road.

  When Grace offered the woman a smile and bade her good day, she was subjected to a rather disagreeable stare.

  Grace supposed she did look untidy and travel worn since h
er gown was anything but fresh, and Dominic’s hastily fashioned horse’s tail was becoming unravelled. Her unwanted companion was equally, if not more, dishevelled.

  She closed her eyes for a moment or two, thinking of Dominic.

  How gentle his hands had been against her neck and scalp. She’d leaned back into his palms and he’d laughed and placed a well-aimed and upside-down kiss on her mouth.

  ‘Not now, Mrs LéSayres. Much to my regret, I have work to do,’ he’d said.

  Her eyes flew open. She must try and stay awake.

  The landlady came bustling in, and her smile encompassed them both. ‘I daresay you ladies would like some tea while you’re waiting for a cab. Mrs Edwards?’

  ‘Certainly not!’ her companion grated out. ‘Ladies do not partake of refreshment in public houses, especially with people they are not acquainted with.’

  The landlady sniffed at such a notion. ‘I daresay you’re able to introduce yourselves then. Miss Ellis … may I be of service to you?’

  ‘You’re busy, and tea is too much trouble. I would appreciate some watered ale though, and I would be grateful if you would make sure the lad travelling with me is suitably refreshed.’

  ‘Yes, Miss Ellis.’

  As the landlady began to depart Grace removed the lid from the cat basket and asked her, ‘Can you spare a saucer of milk for my cat? She has kittens to feed and must be hungry.’

  ‘Certainly, Miss Ellis.’

  Thank goodness word hadn’t got out about her marriage into the LéSayres family. Her escort had made sure she was settled before going into the tavern to wash the dust from his throat with a tankard of ale.

  Mrs Edwards gave a rather gruff bark of a cough. ‘If you’d permit me, Miss Ellis, perhaps you would allow me to join you in the same … only I’d prefer the ale full strength. It’s much more fortifying. Bring us a jug, woman.’

  The landlady was back with the refreshment in a few minutes and Grace’s companion indicated the table with a wave of her hand. ‘Leave it there on the table and close the door when you leave.’

  Gracie received hers with a smile, and then, seemingly in defiance, the landlady banged the jug, and the old woman’s tankard on the table, and, her back stiff with affront, bent to make a fuss of the kittens. Her voice softened. ‘Dear little things.’

  ‘Vermin, they should have been thrown in the river to drown,’ Mrs Edwards barked.

  Someone should throw her in the river to drown, see if she’d like it. Grace examined the woman a little more closely. She was of a stocky stature and square of chin. The blue gown she wore under a travelling cloak had seen better days and she still wore the cowl. Grace found the woman’s manner odd. She would have much preferred her own company.

  Grace poured some milk into a saucer. There was also some roughly chopped meat. The cat sprang in a graceful arc to land on all fours. Her ears flattened, her eyes slitted and she looked as though she was smiling with the pleasure of her kill, even though it had been provided for her. Her purr increased, like a woodsman with a saw.

  When Grace thanked the landlady the woman left with a smile on her face.

  ‘You shouldn’t encourage such people to be familiar,’ the woman said.

  ‘Mrs Edwards … I would prefer not to be told what to do by a complete stranger. Our host is doing her best to accommodate us, so perhaps you should take a leaf from your own book.’

  The woman poured the foaming ale into two tankards. ‘That’s what she’s supposed to do.’

  ‘You’ve left no room for the water.’

  ‘Full strength won’t hurt you. It’s only a tankard.’

  Grace supposed not. She hadn’t set eyes on Sam since he’d stepped down from the Jones’s carriage and wondered where he was. He was of an impressionable age so he was probably hanging around the soldiers and learning their vulgar songs and curses. She smiled as she remembered his behaviour at her wedding and the antics of Mrs Hallam as she tried to control him. She shouldn’t have laughed, but she’d been unable to stop herself.

  Her companion’s voice intruded into her thoughts again. ‘We’re not entirely strangers, Miss Ellis. We met when your father was treating me for … for an adult ailment. You were about as high as my waist. Your father pushed you out of the room, I recall, and you poked your tongue out when he turned away. Over the years I have often wondered what had happened to you.’

  Grace thought that was extremely unlikely. ‘Well, now you do know.’

  ‘You must tell me all about yourself.’

  ‘Must I? How very tedious. I think not since I’m not very interesting.’

  ‘Nonsense, my dear. I overheard a rumour just an hour ago that you were about to wed?’

  So news had begun to leak out. ‘Really … one shouldn’t listen to rumours.’

  Grace could hear the mother cat lapping up the milk and the urgent squeaks as the kittens rolled about in the warm dent that their mother had recently vacated trying to find her.

  Grace wondered, had she called for her own mother after her death, oblivious to the fact that she would never see her again? Had she laid in her crib in the empty nursery calling for someone to hug her, to soothe her fears when she was scared in the night? There had been a void in her own life until Dominic had come to fill it, strong and dependable.

  Sorrow filled her, for a mother she’d never known, for a father whose habits had destroyed him, and had almost destroyed her as well. As for Dominic, his background was similar but he cared, and he showed it. It was not just the physicality of loving but the intimacy when his arms were around her in comfort.

  When the cat finished her meal she stood by the door, gazing back at Grace.

  Grace let her out and she found a patch of earth to scratch in before licking her paws and washing daintily behind her ears. She returned to the basket to see to her family and Grace left the lid off to give her some air.

  ‘You had a position with Lady Florence Digby after the death of your father, I believe?’ the woman said.

  She supposed the woman was from the village to know so much of her. ‘I acted as her companion and carer and I was sad when she passed away. Did you know her then? I didn’t see you at her funeral.’

  Mrs Edwards crossed one leg over the other, and then, hampered by the skirt she wore, she cursed it and reversed the action. She had big feet and her riding boots were well worn.

  ‘Lady Florence was my aunt,’ Mrs Edwards said.

  ‘I can’t recall her ever mentioning she had a niece.’ Dominic had never mentioned a niece either.

  When the woman leaned forward to pick up her ale, her sleeve slipped up her arm, just enough to expose a small portion of his wrist. Grace had never seen a woman with such hairy, muscular wrists.

  There had been something odd about her companion right from the start, now Gracie noticed her peculiarities. Apart from well-developed shoulders, her voice was deeper in tone than that of a female. In fact, Mrs Edwards could easily be passed off as … a man.

  A man … was that it? Was Mrs Edwards a man?

  She tried to shake the thought off. She was being stupid, thinking such a thing. Hadn’t she paid a penny to see a bearded lady at the county fair last year, and gently pulled her beard to see if it was a real one?

  Nevertheless, Grace proceeded with caution. ‘We seem to be talking at cross purposes and I think we should put our cards on the table.’

  ‘As you wish. You may take the floor first.’

  ‘Without wishing to cause offence, I am beginning to wonder if you are what you seem to represent.’

  ‘The veritable wolf in sheep’s clothing, you mean?’ Mrs Edwards gave a high-pitched giggle as she threw the cowl off. ‘And you’re the adorable blushing lamb I’m about to wed. My soldiers will love you, Miss Ellis.’

  Grace brought Dominic into the fray. ‘I will never be your bride since I’m wed to another. I feel I must inform you that I’m wife to Mr LéSayres. For that reason alone you cannot pursue that particular
clause in the will. Instead, my husband has come up with a plan to put before the courts on your behalf, one of benefit to you.’

  ‘And himself by the sound of it.’

  ‘You misunderstand, sir. My husband is an honest and honourable man. As for myself, I have no wish to inherit anything from the will for if I’d agreed to marry you then my half would go straight into your pocket. I have signed a waiver to that effect.’

  The brigadier’s gaze sharpened in on her. ‘Are you travelling alone?’

  ‘You are too inquisitive.’ A quiver of pride leapt into her breast when she gently twisted the ring on her finger. ‘I do have escorts and it won’t take long for them to appear if I call them.’

  His lips pursed. ‘It appears that the district is teeming with the Dorset Yeomanry, and there is quite a kerfuffle going on over which one will shoot me dead.’

  ‘Place me first on the list.’

  ‘It’s easy to say and much harder to carry out.’

  ‘I don’t think I’d have any difficulty.’

  He smiled at that. ‘They are saying I came out of the bog and performed some witchery on the horses.’

  ‘And did you?’

  ‘Very droll. It happens that someone is removing saddles and scattering the horses. They are milling all over the countryside and causing chaos. I suspect, it can only be someone from your side.’

  ‘My side? I have no side.’

  Grace suspected Sam’s hand in that. Well done Sam, she thought, keeping herself from laughing as best she could.

  Leaning forward the brigadier giggled again. ‘The yeomanry are searching every carriage, including the private ones. The men are sodden with drink and have no respect, especially for women. You’re such a pretty little gift for my soldiers … it would be a pity if they didn’t live long enough to enjoy you.’

  Grace’s mouth dried.

  ‘How many escorts did you say you had?’

  ‘I didn’t say.’

  ‘Your husband isn’t one of them. Where is he … at Oakford House?’

  Grace didn’t answer that. ‘My husband is merely the executor of the will. He has come up with a plan that will enable you to inherit everything, should the courts agree. The least you can do is display some good sense and give him a hearing.’ Grace sucked in an impatient breath. ‘You’re not as fearsome as you present, brigadier.’