Miss Armistead Makes Her Choice

by Heidi Ashworth

  “Elizabeth.” Her name fell from his lips like music. “How you feel when he kisses you . . you will always feel thus. How you feel when I kiss you, how I feel . .” He heaved a great sigh and rubbed his thumb along her cheek. “There is so much more to these matters than you might possibly guess. I would pay any price, move any mountain, fight any foe, if only it were I who showed you what it means to be truly loved, body and soul.”

  She listened as his voice fell away and the beat of his heart resounded under her ear; how it pounded faster when she tightened her arms around his waist, pressing so close that the brooch with its treasured lock of hair was nearly crushed between them. The realization that she had never felt happier unfolded in her mind like a flower in the sun. Suddenly, and quite clearly she knew that the yearning she had felt since she had first met him was an unassailable longing to spend her life with Mr. Colin Lloyd-Jones.

  Putting her hands to his chest, she pushed away so that she could gaze upon the little of him she could discern in the dark of the night. “There is something that I would say to you.”

  “If I spoke too freely,” he said with a groan, “pray forgive me. I had not meant to press you further but when I saw you leave the room . . To have one more opportunity to speak with you, to ask you to be mine, I had not the courage to let it pass me by.”

  “And how fortunate am I that you did not!” she cried, smiling up at him. “It all seems so clear to me now and yet I have been so hopelessly befuddled. I had not presumed, until I had met Mr. Lloyd-Jones with his so comely face, pleasing temperament and exceptional character, that one could love a person’s nature every bit as much as one’s exquisite exterior. In point of fact, I had not thought it possible to be loved for anything but my outward appearance; such was my experience. And so I seized upon an artificial love in as much as I believed that its lack of capacity to be diverted by my appearance was comparable to being loved wholly for my nature.”

  “And now that this paragon of virtue has led you to this so avidly wished for conclusion,” he said, his voice thick with emotion, “may I dare to hope that you will formally reject this spurious love for one that is so very true?”

  “My only regret is that I have left it for so long,” she confessed as she allowed her hands to be gathered in his and ardently kissed. “I do so fear that I shall make Mr. Cruikshank miserable but I cannot trade my . . our happiness for his. And yet, you perceive how he depends upon me. I cannot bear to face him. I have not had the time to think what I should do.”

  “Perhaps not, but I have been thinking on it rather incessantly,” he said through what sounded to her like a wide smile. “I am aware of how scandalous it is to so much as say the words, however, if we were to elope to Gretna Green, you needn’t deal with any unpleasantness. You need only leave a note for your mother and beg her to remain in England until we return from our honeymoon.”

  Stunned by the ease of his proposition, she was at first bereft of words. Finally, she pulled her hands free from his grasp, threw herself into his arms and cried, “How utterly brilliant!”

  To her delight, he lifted her off her feet and into the air, spinning her about until she was giddy and faint. Slowly, he loosened his grasp and allowed her to slide back to earth. “Miss Armistead, I ask you, and for the last time,” he said in charmingly threatening tones, “will you marry me?”

  “Mr. Colin Lloyd-Jones, I find I cannot do otherwise!”

  He bent his head and kissed her so thoroughly that she could only wonder what new pleasures their wedding night might hold. “Soon you shall be Mrs. Colin Lloyd-Jones,” he murmured as his kisses traveled from her mouth to her neck.

  “Yes, but when?” she dared to ask. “For Mr. Cruikshank’s sake, I cannot think of anything so cruel as to delay the inevitable. Besides which, I fear that if we wait too long, you might be tempted to anticipate our marriage vows.”

  “As for temptation,” he murmured as he moved his kisses back to her jaw, “isn’t that a bit like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted?”

  As she submitted herself to another incursion of kisses, she thought that she rather agreed. Eventually, she remembered where they were and that there were those who doubtless wondered what had become of her. “I must go back.”

  “Yes, but I swear we shall not be long parted. When you arrive home, pack only what you think you will need for two or three days. We shall be free to purchase anything else you wish when it suits us. Be sure to write your mother a note; when you are certain all are sleeping, meet me at the area steps.”

  “Tonight?” she gasped.

  “Yes, but only if you wish; it is an answer to all your troubles. And yet, if it seems to you that I am overhasty and you fear the worst, you have my word that you shall be married a maid.”

  “It is not that I fear,” she insisted. “You have over and over again proved yourself worthy of my trust, though I must confess to being full of apprehension. It is only because of how it will pain those we leave behind. And yet, I feel it to be the scheme that best suits the purpose.”

  He took her hands and again kissed them. “Go to your mother and make some plausible excuse to depart at the first possible moment. I shall wait until you have entered the house; it would not do to be seen emerging from the shadows together. The small-minded will condemn you for our hasty marriage, but I shall not provide them with what they might see as proof of its needfulness.”

  With a last squeeze of his hands, she did as he said. They had not entered so far into the maze that she could not easily find her way out on her own and she had no trouble in finding the ballroom where it seemed light as day after time spent out in the night. As she moved along the row of chairs to join her mother, she realized that Mr. Cruikshank was nowhere to be seen.

  “Mama, where is Mr. Cruikshank?” she asked, fearful that he had met with some accident.

  “A better question might be to ask where you have been,” her mother hissed.

  “It is very hot in here,” she demurred as she took her seat, “and I was in need of some air. It is a lovely night. However, we needs must find Mr. Cruikshank without delay. In which direction did he go?”

  “You needn’t be worried on that score; he has Katherine to guide him.”

  “But Mama, Katherine is seated just to the other side of Aunt Augusta.”

  Mrs. Armistead lifted her lorgnette to her spectacles and peered through them at Katherine. “I was persuaded you went with him, Kate.”

  “But of course I did, how else should he have found his way about? However, we ran into a gentleman of Mr. Cruikshank’s acquaintance. They wished to converse and I did not, so I returned.”

  “Was it so very long ago, Kate, or have you just arrived?” Elizabeth asked as she twisted about in search of her betrothed.

  “I have been here, in my seat, the better part of a quarter hour, I should think,” Katherine mused.

  “Very well, then, as long as he is with someone who can see to his welfare,” Elizabeth replied. “Doubtless he shall be returned to us before long. However, Mama, once he arrives, I do believe it would be best if we return home. I find that going out with Mr. Cruikshank is rather trying and I am spent. Do you suppose the Scott-Montgomerys will be very offended?”

  “I daresay they shan’t notice we have gone,” Aunt Augusta said. “It is such a squeeze here, tonight, I don’t know if I can bear the heat, myself.”

  “And yet I am so enjoying myself,” Mrs. Armistead said with a sigh.

  “As none have thought to inquire of me, I shall leave you all in no doubt as to my feelings,” Katherine expostulated. “Aside from Mr. Cruikshank and his friend, a man old enough to be my grandfather in spite of his leers, I haven’t spoken to a single man. I am determined to stay and meet my future husband tonight!”

  Elizabeth took a deep breath and considered her options. She might pretend to be overcome by the heat but rather doubted that the others would believe she had genuinely fainted for the second tim
e in as many weeks. She felt that every passing minute was one that put her plans in jeopardy and she cast about for a compelling reason to quit the premises immediately. She turned around in her chair to ascertain whether or not Colin had returned to the room and was approached by a man who leaned over to whisper in her ear.

  “Mr. Cruikshank is in need of assistance. Shall I lead you to him?”

  “Yes, of course,” Elizabeth replied. “Mama, I shan’t be a moment. Mr. Cruikshank has been found and I am needed.”

  If only she were not.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Colin watched Elizabeth move away through the shadows of the maze and quelled the desire to run after her. It was best that their flight was delayed for a few hours as there was much to be done in the meantime. He endured the time spent waiting in the maze by totting up a list of what he would need and what he must do before collecting his bride. First, he would need to find a footman to have his carriage brought round and then he would have the delightful task of informing his sister of his plans. The only prospect more ambrosial than marrying Elizabeth promised to be witnessing Analisa’s joy when she heard the news.

  When he finally stepped out of the hedges into the torch-lit garden, he was taken aback to find Mr. Cruikshank standing, quite alone, at the entrance to the maze. “May I help you find your way?” Colin asked.

  “Who is that?” Mr. Cruikshank shifted from one foot to the other, his eyes dark and unreadable.

  “It is Colin Lloyd-Jones. We met last night at Lady Augusta’s dinner party.”

  “Ah, yes, I had hoped I might run into you. There are one or two things I should like to say to you without the ladies listening in.”

  Colin stifled his impatience and prepared to listen; it was the least he could do in light of his plans to run off with the man’s intended wife. “I am at your disposal.”

  “I would thank you to take me arm and lead me to a more private locale. I shouldna like anyone to hear what I have to say and methinks you shall feel likewise.”

  “Very well,” Colin said as he took the man’s arm and led him into the maze. He suspected he would not like what the man had to say and agreed that it was best to hold their conversation where they were not likely to be overheard.

  “I have only been returned to the presence of my beloved for a mere day,” Mr. Cruikshank whined, “but already I have the impression that her love for me has waned. I canna tell you how it breaks my heart. Now, I could be wrong but I feel that you—along with your sister, o’course—have spent a good deal of time with Miss Armistead. I says to myself, if there is another man who has taken my place, Mr. Lloyd-Jones ought to know who he be.”

  “I daresay you are correct,” Colin replied as he hastened his pace. Doubtless there would be a bench or two by the fountain in the center of the maze; the sooner they arrived the sooner he could safely abandon Mr. Cruikshank and send someone else to fetch him. “My sister and I have enjoyed a warm friendship with Miss Armistead. As for another man, I have seen no sign of one.”

  “With the exception of yourself, o’course.”

  “Of course. I believe she felt me to be harmless. The very day we met she learned that a friend and I had entered into a pact to avoid female entanglements for the season. As she was engaged to be married, I and my sister, for whom Miss Armistead felt an immediate affinity, took it upon ourselves to entertain her until you arrived.”

  “It sounds harmless enough and yet I canna like it. And then there is the fact of how it felt. How does it feel now?” he asked, coming to a halt and turning as if to look into Colin’s eyes.

  Colin supposed a lifetime of habits did not die simply through the loss of one’s sight, but the unnerving stare to which he was treated was suspicious to say the least. Grateful that they had somehow stumbled upon the center of the maze, he led Mr. Cruikshank to the anticipated bench and settled him on the one to the far side of the fountain. “How I feel is of no consequence,” Colin remarked as he moved away in preparation to make his escape into the maze.

  “Why is that, Mr. Lloyd-Jones?” Mr. Cruikshank asked with a cock of his head.

  “It is only Miss Armistead’s feelings that you should take into account. I have nothing to say to the matter.”

  “But I think you do,” Mr. Cruikshank said, rising to his feet. “Case in point: what is the meaning of the brooch that she wears? It contains a lock of hair that I am persuaded canna be mine.”

  “She wears a brooch, yes,” Colin riposted, “but I daresay she would not have spoken of it to you. How can you know of it?” The solution that came to Colin’s mind filled him with such rage that his hands balled into fists at his sides. “I cannot perceive why Miss Armistead should allow you a search of her person, sir!”

  Mr. Cruikshank did not respond and Colin was forced to believe the worst. “I leave you now but I will send another to aid you in your return.” He whirled around to re-enter the maze and had only taken a few steps when, to his great astonishment, he received a blow to the back of his head. It was not as injurious as it was painful and excessively perplexing.

  He turned about to see Cruikshank prepared to strike him another blow with his cane. Colin felt his assailant to have been fortunate to land one blow, but he would be a pitiful specimen if he allowed Cruikshank to land a second. Dodging the blow that came, Colin moved round to place the fountain between him and the blind man. “Cruikshank, this is not a fight you can win.”

  “But I must, Mr. Lloyd-Jones for I cannot afford to lose,” Cruikshank cried as he turned, his cane held aloft, and shambled in Colin’s direction. “There are those who seek my life unless I make reparation. Who better to marry but the deeply feeling and enormously wealthy Miss Elizabeth Armistead?”

  Colin was prepared for the blow from the cane but not the jab from Cruikshank’s left hand. It caught Colin squarely under the jaw and sent him reeling from astonishment as much as pain. “Why is it that I begin to doubt you are as sightless as you let on to be?” Colin baited as he studied his options for escape.

  “What is it that makes me think you are the man I’ve been lookin’ for?” Cruikshank retorted.

  Colin ignored the question. “She won’t marry you, even if you do manage to best me in a bout of fisticuffs. I suggest you toss your cane away, however. It hardly seems sporting.”

  “And how sportin’ shall it seem to Miss Armistead when she learns you have struck a blind man? Oh, no, I shall be needin’ this cane to continue my deception. That is, directly after I darken your daylights.”

  “I implore you to make your best attempt,” Colin said, edging his way around the fountain and back towards the exit. “She still will not marry you.”

  “You think not? Do you not yet perceive? I’ll let nothing stop me from getting my hands on that money. It wasn’t the rain that landed me under that bridge; it were those to whom I owe my debts. They dared not get near me whilst I was in hospital; feigning blindness was a useful ploy and for more than one reason. But I never did claim to be deaf. It is amazing what you can manage to overhear when everyone pays you no heed. Later tonight, when the lovely miss meets you at the area steps, it shall be me who waits for her and the matter will be settled, once and for all.”

  Colin could hardly credit the meaning of Cruikshank’s words. That he had stood by and listened to their private tete a tete made Colin sick to his stomach. That Cruikshank intended to fetch Elizabeth in Colin’s place infuriated him. He was upon Cruikshank in a flash and had landed a punch to his nose before he had a chance to react. The torches that blazed at each corner of the area illuminated the dark stream that issued forth from Cruikshank’s nostrils. He swung, but Colin evaded it and landed another blow to the side of Cruikshank’s eye. He retreated; Colin supposed Cruikshank had gotten the measure of the situation and found himself wanting. The two of them glowered at one another, each equidistant to the exit closest to the house.

  Suddenly, Mr. Cruikshank pulled a flaming torch from the ground and with a might
y roar charged Colin. There was nothing for Colin to do but fall back, back against the stone that formed the fountain itself. The last his eyes beheld was the face of his adversary glowing with rage in the light of the torch. And then it all went black.

  *

  Colin noted that the night was very cold. And wet. He must have gone walking out in the rain without his hat and coat. His hands were freezing, as well. He wondered why he had gone to bed without first drying out by the fire. He was sure to acquire a nasty cold. Perhaps he had already; his head hurt like the devil and he was stiff all over. A light penetrated through his closed lids and he thought it odd that he would not have blown out the bedside candle.

  Opening his eyes, he attempted to make sense of the flame that hovered close to his face; too close. He moved to sit up and realized that he was not lying down so much as sprawling, half in and half out, of a fountain of water. With a jerk of surprise, he rolled off it onto the grass and contemplated the stars in the sky. He couldn’t, for the life of him, remember how he had gotten outside. He had been in his bed only moments ago. His gaze shifted to the flame of light and he realized it was much too large to belong to any bedside candle. To his surprise, there were more of them, one in each corner of the area around the fountain. And then he remembered: Elizabeth was in danger!

  He shot up from the ground in a move that would have impressed even Tony though it left Colin dizzy and faint. He would be sure not to allow Tony to perceive such weakness, only, he was not the enemy. Colin rubbed the knot on the back of his head whilst he cudgeled his brain for a thought that made sense. The only potential action that was immediately apparent was that he must find his way out of the hedges. He stumbled about, his footing becoming surer as the fog cleared from his mind, and found his way out of the shadows. When he beheld the dark house and the moonlit garden, he remembered all.

  He surmised that his carriage should yet stand somewhere on the premises, however, he hadn’t time to hunt round the back of the house for it, nor to hitch up the horses. It was clear that the guests had dispersed and the night well gone. If he were to apprehend Elizabeth and her abductor, he must find a fresh horse. He ran past the house to the back and found a likely looking building sure to contain a horse, perhaps even one of his own, and could not believe his eyes when a saddled horse cantered into view. It was followed by a man, hugely drunk and objecting vociferously, stuck in the reins by the ankle and being dragged along the ground.