The Marriage Contract

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Lewis chuckled. “Everyone in London was hardly aware of my brother’s existence. He was more of a shadow than a human being.”

  “The child is his,” she asserted. “I’m telling the truth.”

  Lewis turned to her. “No one is saying that you’re lying. We believe you.” He looked expectantly at Stephen. “You believe her, don’t you?”

  “I don’t care who the father is,” Stephen replied. “But yes, I believe her…and I’m prepared to treat the child as if the boy or girl were my own. The only thing I care about is whether or not she’ll sign the contract.”

  “Contract?” Now she was confused. He was planning to marry her, wasn’t he? Contracts were done between business partners. They weren’t done for marriages. At least she’d never heard of any marriages that were the result of a contract.

  “Think of it as a promise to abide by certain rules,” Stephen said.

  Lewis stood up so he could get a better look at the parchment on the desk. “You wrote a marriage contract?”

  “I had to,” Stephen told him. “You, of all people, should know why.”

  “But she’s not Eloise,” Lewis replied.

  “I didn’t say she was,” Stephen said. “I’m merely providing a written agreement in which she and I understand the terms of the marriage. This isn’t a love match. It’s a transaction where I vow to provide for her and her unborn child in return for her vow to do three things. I’m not being unreasonable. I just don’t want certain problems to come up later.” He picked up the parchment and held it out to her. “Read it for yourself. If you don’t like the conditions of the contract, then don’t marry me.”

  “This isn’t what I had in mind when I brought her here,” Lewis said as she took it.

  “If you want to marry her, you can do so under your terms,” Stephen told him.

  Ignoring them, she read through the contract. It seemed straightforward enough. Basically, it promised that in exchange for giving her and her child his name and his home, she would do three things for him. One, she would never look at his face. She wouldn’t try to remove his mask to see what was under it, and she would always knock on the door of the room he was in to allow him time to put the mask on. Two, she would keep the mirrors covered. The only mirror she was allowed to uncover was the one in her own bedchamber. All of the other mirrors were to be left alone. And three, she must never, under any circumstance, ask him about his past. She could discuss anything else with him, but that particular topic was to be avoided.

  At the bottom of the contract, he had put his signature on one of the lines, and he had dated it. She supposed he expected her to do the same on the second line.

  She looked up from the contract and focused in on what the two were arguing about.

  “Was the marriage between her and your brother a love match?” Stephen asked Lewis, his gentle voice rising in frustration. “No. It was an arrangement they made for the benefit of both of them. Except in your brother’s case, he wanted an heir. I don’t see how that’s any different from what I’m doing.”

  “You’re not paranoid like my brother was,” Lewis said.

  “Maybe not, but I have a good reason to make this contract,” he replied. “I’m dismayed that you would even question it.”

  “You don’t need to go through all of this. Not with Patricia. She’s a good lady.”

  “I don’t mind signing it,” she interrupted.

  The two stopped arguing and brought their attention to her, as if they hadn’t expected her to say anything.

  She would have laughed if the situation wasn’t so serious. “Can I have the quill?” she asked.

  Stephen nodded, dipped the quill into the inkwell, and handed it to her.

  She stood so she could sign the contract on the desk. After she dated it, she gave him the contract and quill. When she realized Lewis was staring at her in disbelief, she said, “The terms are reasonable.” Besides, Ichabod had asked her to do something a lot stranger than what Stephen just did.

  Holding onto the contract with one hand, Stephen placed the quill back in its holder with the other then rose to his feet. “Thank you, Patricia. Since we are to be married, please address me as Stephen. Lewis, I’ll be ready to marry her as soon as you can get a vicar here. In the meantime, I want both of you to be comfortable. If you need anything, the servants will see to your needs.”

  Patricia watched as he left the drawing room. He was probably going to put the contract away in a secure place. Would she see him again before the wedding, or would he stay confined to another room?

  Lewis let out a long sigh. “The contract wasn’t necessary.”

  “I didn’t mind signing it,” she assured him. “It doesn’t bother me. It shouldn’t bother you, either.”

  “He’s afraid you’ll act like his first wife. Ever since he married her, he’s put up these walls to keep people from getting close to him. I think the only reason he hasn’t pushed me away is because I knew him before Eloise came into his life. I don’t know the details of the marriage, but he hasn’t been the same person since.”

  “What happened doesn’t matter. That’s all in the past. No one can change it.” God knew if she could change aspects of her past, she would, but no one could go back in time and do anything differently.

  “Well,” Lewis began, “I better get a special marriage license and find a vicar to marry you and Stephen. Is there anything you want me to get while I’m in London? Any clothes or hats or boots?”

  “No, I have everything I need.” The nice thing about living outside of London was that no one cared if she wore the same clothes all the time, and it didn’t matter how old those clothes were. Also, since no one did see her, she didn’t bother wearing mourning garb. It was hard to mourn someone she didn’t ever truly get to know.

  “All right.” He glanced around the drawing room. “I’ll show you around the place before I leave. As Stephen said, all the rooms are free to explore.”

  All the rooms except for his bedchamber. Stephen hadn’t come out and said it, but she suspected he didn’t want anyone in there. Since he wore a mask to hide his face, she would go even further to guess that even the servants didn’t go in there, unless it was to clean the room. And in that case, they probably hurried through the task.

  Stephen was a private gentleman. Not as private as Ichabod, but private enough. And she would honor that privacy, just as she had honored Ichabod’s.

  “Patricia?”

  Breaking out of her thoughts, she brought her attention to Lewis.

  “Are you ready to see the other rooms?” he asked.

  Nodding, she joined him and left the drawing room.

  Chapter Four

  Stephen placed the contract in his safe and hid the key in his bedchamber. It was probably a twisted sense of justice that he always thought of Brad whenever he used a key. Stephen had gotten adept at unlocking things, but one thing he hadn’t been able to unlock had been the box that had held Brad’s ledger.

  He was so certain that Brad was withholding money unjustly from him that he had broken the lock and took the ledger. He’d been right. Brad had way more money than he ever let anyone know about. Brad had been furious when he’d caught him with the ledger, but when had Brad not been furious with him?

  Stephen could never do anything to please his brother, and he had given up trying. Instead, he had acted any way he’d wanted simply because Brad was going to get upset with him no matter what he did. He had figured that he might as well earn the punishments Brad gave him.

  Of course, it was too late when he realized he had pushed Brad too far. At that point, Brad had arranged for him to marry Eloise. That was when his life fell apart. And he had deserved it.

  A knock came from the closed door of his bedchamber. He frowned and turned to it. None of the servants came to him unless he made the request. He didn’t think Patricia would come to his bedchamber, but maybe she had a question about the contract.

  He picked up th
e mask he’d placed on the dresser and hurried to the door. “Who is it?” he asked.

  “It’s me,” came Lewis’ voice from the other end.

  Stephen slipped on the mask and opened the door and noted that Lewis was alone. He motioned for him to come into the room.

  Once Lewis was in, Stephen shut the door and turned to him. “Did you come to give me grief about the contract?”

  “The contract is unnecessary.”

  “So, that’s a yes.”

  Lewis let out a long, frustrated sigh. “Are you going to treat her the same way you treated Eloise?”

  “I didn’t kill Eloise.”

  “I know you didn’t.”

  “Then what are you referring to?”

  “I’m referring to the way you treated Eloise while she was alive. You shut her out. You moved all the way out here to get away from her.”

  He pointed to his mask. “I moved all the way out here because I can’t show my face anywhere. Eloise made sure of that. She wanted to chase me out of London, and she got her wish. Of course, I shut her out. I didn’t want to have anything to do with her.”

  “I just want to make sure you’re going to be good to Patricia.”

  “If you thought I was going to be cruel to her, then why did you ask me to marry her?”

  “I don’t think you’ll be cruel. You misunderstand my intention. I want you to welcome her into your life. My brother was such a recluse that she was alone during her marriage to him. I want that to be different with you. A person needs companionship.”

  “Your brother obviously gave her some companionship or she wouldn’t be carrying his child.”

  “My brother might have managed to get her in the family way, but he didn’t befriend or love her. Every time I went to visit, she grew more and more isolated from the world. It was like watching a flower fade.”

  “I still don’t understand why you won’t marry her since you feel so strongly about her.”

  “I have no romantic interest in her. She’s like a sister to me. What she needs is a good gentleman who can love her the way a lady should be loved by her husband.”

  Stephen shook his head. “If you want her to be with a good gentleman, then you should find one.”

  “You are a good gentleman. It’s why I know you didn’t kill Eloise even though most people think you did. I know you’re not perfect, but deep down, you have goodness inside of you. You need Patricia as much as she needs you. She can help bring out the goodness that’s there.”

  “I’m not promising you that I’ll be her friend or her lover. I’m only promising to keep her and her child safe.” When he caught the flicker of disappointment on Lewis’ face, he continued, “I can’t promise something unless I know I can deliver it. If you can live with that, then obtain a special license and find a vicar who will marry us. If not, then take her to someone more deserving.”

  “There is no one better than you,” Lewis softly said. “All right. I’ll take care of it.” He went to the bedchamber door but stopped before opening it. “Will you at least share meals with her so she doesn’t have to eat by herself?”

  “I was planning to do that.”

  “You weren’t in the dining room this morning.”

  “I was writing up the contract. I don’t have to do that again.”

  Though Lewis didn’t seem completely happy with the arrangement, he nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

  Stephen removed the mask then plopped down in a nearby chair. He should be glad that Lewis saw the best in him, but the truth was, it drained him. Lewis had expectations that simply weren’t there. Up to now, Lewis had been the one person who’d never given up on him. Everyone else, at some point, had abandoned him.

  While it was true Stephen’s sister, Loretta, had started visiting him three years ago, Brad had yet to allow him back into his life. Stephen had gathered up the courage to send Brad a couple of missives over the years, but Brad hadn’t replied to any of them. Stephen hadn’t asked Loretta about it because he was afraid of what Loretta was going to say. It was one thing to think Brad never wanted to see him again. It would be much worse to know it for a fact.

  Stephen put his head in his hands and, for the first time in a long time, cried over all the things he’d done wrong in the past that he desperately wanted to change but never could.

  ***

  Patricia didn’t know why the absence of other people should bother her so much. She’d been so used to it when she’d been with Ichabod. Since Lewis left to go to London, she had been all by herself, and it gave her a restless feeling. Once in a while, the butler or a maid would check on her to see if she needed anything, but other than that, she was left to do whatever she wanted.

  And that was part of the problem. She didn’t know what she wanted. She had found a room filled with books. She loved to read, even if she still struggled with some of the fancier words. Most of the time, she could make out what a word meant by the way it was used in a sentence, and sometimes that was part of the fun of reading. It challenged her to learn new words.

  She thought she might be able to get wrapped up in a book today, especially since Stephen had an assortment of fiction to choose from. Fiction was always far more interesting than boring books based on real life. Lewis used to bring out a box full of new fiction titles to help keep her occupied when she was at his brother’s estate. She had looked forward to finding what treasures she’d find between the covers of each and every single tale.

  Today, however, nothing interested her. Stephen had more books than she’d ever seen in her entire life, and not a single one piqued her interest. She’d sit down to read one, get bored within the first chapter or two, and then put it back. She’d pick another one, and the same thing happened again. By the time she put the twentieth book away, she gave up. Obviously, she wasn’t in the mood to read.

  She ended up sitting by the window. It was a nice autumn day. From her vantage point, she got a good view of the maze. The gardener was trimming the hedges. Maybe she should go to the maze. She’d never been in one before. It might be fun.

  Except…. What if she got lost in it? From what she recalled, it was a large one. And the hedges were probably seven feet high. Unless she went with someone who knew their way in it, she didn’t feel comfortable going in there.

  With a sigh, she settled back in her chair. She didn’t hear anyone moving about the place. If it hadn’t been bright and sunny outside, she might have been spooked.

  The butler came into the room, and she jerked.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “Mr. Bachman’s sister expressed an interest in meeting you. Will you see her, or should I tell her to come back at another time?”

  “I’ll see her now,” Patricia replied and rose from the chair, glad to have something to do.

  As she followed him to the drawing room, he said, “She brought her children with her. She does that when she visits.”

  “Does she visit often?”

  “She comes by a few times a year.”

  They made it to the drawing room, and Patricia could see that Stephen’s sister had her hands full with three little ones. The oldest—a girl—was holding a doll, and the smaller one—a boy—was by Stephen’s sister’s side. Stephen’s sister was holding a baby in her lap.

  “Lady Pruett is here,” the butler introduced. “Lady Pruett, this is the Duchess of Lambeth with her three children. I’ll return with some refreshments.”

  Stephen’s sister rose from the settee and offered her a smile. “Since you will be marrying my brother, we can skip the formalities. I’m Loretta.” She gestured to the girl. “This is Rosamond.”

  “I’m five,” Rosamond said.

  Loretta chuckled. “And she isn’t the least bit shy.” She motioned to the boy who stood by her. “This is Janus. He’s two. This little gentleman in my arms is Edmund, and he’s three months old. I see you’re expecting a child.”

  Patricia nodded and steppe
d further into the room. “Yes. I was recently widowed.” She cleared her throat. “My husband was Lord Pruett.”

  “I know. Lewis told me everything. Ever since Stephen and I started getting along, Lewis has made it a habit of visiting with me when he comes to London. He lets me know how my brother’s doing.”

  Loretta sat on the settee with Edmund, and since Rosamond and Janus hopped up next to her, Patricia took a chair from the desk and pulled it near the settee.

  “When are you due?” Loretta asked.

  “In a month,” Patricia replied.

  “So soon? I’m surprised Lewis would make you travel from the country when you’re so close to giving birth.”

  “I insisted on it.”

  “You don’t like the country any more than I do, do you? Well, fortunately for you, this place isn’t that far from London. We all made it here in under an hour.”

  “Stephen is doing me a kindness by marrying me,” Patricia said. “I have no family, and the only friend I have is Lewis.” Just so Loretta didn’t misunderstand her relationship with Lewis, she added, “Lewis and I have never been more than friends. I think of him as a brother.”

  The butler came into the room with tea and tarts. Rosamond and Janus perked up as he set the tray in front of them.

  “Mr. Bachman said he’ll be down shortly,” the butler told them.

  Stephen would be coming down? Patricia had thought he might stay hidden away. She hadn’t seen him since that morning.

  “Tell him he doesn’t have to hurry,” Loretta said. “I mostly came to meet the lady he is to marry.”

  The butler nodded and left, and Patricia poured tea into the cups.

  “I want to see my uncle,” Rosamond piped up as she took a tart from the tray. She looked at Patricia. “He brings gifts.”

  Loretta smiled. “He likes to spoil the children. I think he has Lewis buy toys every time he goes to London. There’s no other way he’d have them in this place whenever we come by. He and Brad are so different. Brad is our older brother.”