by Meara Platt
Dahlia came back upstairs once the Lord Admiral left. “What did he have to say?”
He grimaced. “The lords are in turmoil, trying to figure out how to save their hides. Lord Liverpool’s party might lose control over Parliament because of this. It was on his insistence that Hawley was promoted to a fleet admiral and given command of The Invictus. Liverpool is an able leader. I don’t know who will fill his shoes if he tumbles. Hopefully, someone less keen on rewarding rank instead of merit.”
“These lords have been holding power ever since the days of Magna Carta. None of them wishes to be in the generation that gives it up.”
He reached out and took her hand. “Enough about politics. How do you feel, Queen Pea? My brothers think I’m an idiot for wanting to marry you today. How do you feel about it? Am I forcing you into it?”
“No.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You sound hesitant. Are you having doubts?”
“About becoming your wife? None. I am marrying a hero. Or haven’t you heard?” She grinned as she nodded toward the newspapers. “They are all claiming you are, so it must be true.”
“I only wish to be your hero. I don’t care what anyone else thinks.” He kissed her hand.
“You are, Ronan. I don’t need a newspaper to tell me about your virtues. But do you think your brothers are right? You must admit, it will be a lame affair. You can’t even stand on your own beside me because your wounds are too fresh.”
“I rode from Tilbury to London just to be with you. I can stand by your side for the few minutes it will take us to get through the ceremony.”
She smiled at him. “Clothed?”
He chuckled. “Oh, hell. Don’t make me laugh.”
“Sorry. But we have overlooked these practical considerations.”
“Are you saying you want to wait? As for me, although I’ve made jests about my low brain need for you, my desire for urgency isn’t about that at all. It is about my heart needing you. It’s a soul-wrenching ache, Queen Pea. But you have only to say the word. I will do whatever you wish.”
“Then let us be married today. I feel the same way, Ronan.”
“Thank you.”
She gave him a kiss on the forehead. “I only came back in here for a moment. We’ve reclaimed Heather’s bedchamber, and my sisters are now determined to fuss over me. So I must spend the next three hours in a dither, wondering how I shall ever be ready in time for my wedding, which hasn’t even been scheduled yet.”
He smiled. “Finn will have the minister for us today. He’ll grumble and moan, but he’ll get it done.”
“And I’ll be ready. Violet brought over more of my gowns. We will spend at least an hour pondering which one I am to wear. And another hour deciding how to style my hair because it has to be just right. And another hour simply fretting because everyone frets over wedding preparations.”
“I suppose it is a much simpler thing for men. I just have to worry about getting my trousers on. But I’m truly sorry, Queen Pea. You deserve far better.”
“We Farthingales are notorious for marrying in haste. We have raised these patched together weddings to a fine art. It has become a source of pride to see who can outdo all the others. I never thought I would be the one to claim the honor. But a naked bridegroom? Marrying in a bedchamber? On a few hours' notice? Our story will be a legend among the family.”
He laughed again, the effort causing pain to course through his body. But he overlooked it because he was in too good humor. “Put that way, then I’m glad to be of service.”
She leaned forward and gave him another light kiss, this time on the mouth. “I hear Uncle John and Aunt Sophie downstairs. What do you think? Will he withhold his approval or say thank goodness and kick me out the door?” She grinned impishly. “Let me go down to speak to them. And then I shall be locked away in Heather’s bedchamber. Uncle John is not going to refuse your proposal.”
Indeed, there was little to be discussed when John and Rupert called on him. Finn had come up with them. “I’ll sign whatever you want,” he said, impatient to have the minister scheduled.
Finn rolled his eyes.
John and Rupert laughed.
“What is it with you Braydens?” Rupert jested. “You take all the fun out of contract negotiations. Even Finn was ready to sign over the Crown jewels to marry Belle.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if my brother actually owned those jewels. But my assets are not quite as impressive. They’re similar to Joshua’s. Just copy whatever terms he agreed to when marrying Holly, and let’s be done.”
When they left, despite fighting to remain awake, Ronan fell into a deep sleep for the next two hours. He awoke to the sound of his family and the Farthingales still gathered downstairs. However, Dahlia was across the hall from him. He couldn’t tell who else was in the room with her, but there were definitely more than just the three sisters. Multiple giggles emanated from behind the closed door.
In truth, it made him feel better that Dahlia was being fussed over as his bride-to-be. He wanted her to have at least one frivolous memory because he was depriving her of every shred of her dream wedding.
Robbie and Finn sauntered into his bedchamber. “Thought ye might need help taking care of the necessaries now that ye’re awake,” Robbie said.
“I’m good. Took care of almost everything myself before I fell asleep.”
Finn frowned. “You stood up all by yourself?”
“Sort of. I held on to the bedpost. Did you find a minister? I hope this is why the family is still downstairs. They had better not be holding vigil over me. I have no intention of dying anytime soon.”
“Minister will be here within the hour.”
“Thank you, Finn,” he said with all sincerity.
“You’re still an arse, but I know you love Dahlia. I was as much of an idiot about Belle.”
Robbie scratched his head. “Ye took care of the necessaries with yer door wide open?”
“What? Yes.” Ronan shrugged. “Couldn’t be helped. I kept the sheet wrapped around me as best as I could.”
“When did ye do this?” Robbie was horrified. “The pixie might have seen ye. At least the others are married and ken what a man looks like.”
“Heather was busy with her sister. They haven’t come out of that room in hours. Why are you scowling at me, Robbie? No one saw anything.”
“I would have come up here and shut yer damn door.” He sighed and shook his head. “Joshua gave ye a bell to ring if ye needed us.”
“You aren’t my servants. And I didn’t want anyone’s hands on me. I managed fine on my own...almost. Someone must have come in here while I slept and tidied up the mess I made. I see there’s fresh water in the ewer, and the chamber pot has been emptied. When did you say the minister was coming?”
Finn groaned. “You really are an idiot.”
“A royal pain in the arse,” Robbie said. “Is this what love does to a man? Then I hope I never fall in love. I dinna think I’ve ever met a more lovesick fool.”
“Hah! You’ll see. When you fall, it will be so hard, all of London will quake.”
Robbie rolled his eyes. “Not a chance.”
Robbie and his brother were still giving him a hard time when Dahlia popped her head in. “May I come in?”
“Blessed saints,” he said in an awed whisper. “You look beautiful, Queen Pea.”
She had changed out of the gown she had put on this morning. This new gown was a soft rose color, which brought out the gentle blush in her cheeks and pink of her lips. Her hair was drawn off her face, curled and left to tumble in a glorious cascade down her back. The few pink and purple flowers in her hair enhanced the effect. She looked like an exquisite wood nymph. “What do you think of this gown and my hairstyle? Suitable for a wedding?”
He groaned. “Hell, yes. Finn, please. Drag the damn minister here already.”
“Fine. Robbie and I will bring him over now.” They complimented Dahlia on their way out.
>
Ronan was glad for a moment alone with her. “How do you feel, Queen Pea?”
She grinned. “Happy. Amazed. Is this really going to happen? Will I truly be married to you?”
“Yes, but there’s still the matter of my husbandly duties to fulfill. We’ll figure that part out later. You look so beautiful. I’m glad I was an arse about rushing the wedding day. I don’t regret it.”
“Nor do I.” She sighed and reached for the unguent. “I had better coat you again.”
“I’ll do it. Why don’t you go downstairs and join the others?”
She looked disappointed. “Are you eager to be rid of me already?”
“No. But I’ll understand if you’d rather be downstairs than up here holding your nose while I smear this odious glop on me.”
“I’d rather be with you, if you don’t mind. Won’t it be in our vows? In sickness and in health. For better or for worse. In odious glop and gagging scents.”
“I think the good Lord would give you a pass on that one. But it feels nice, doesn’t it? You and me? I think I shall write Wainscott a note. Thank you for being the biggest dumb-arse in existence. Thank you for being too shortsighted and narrow-minded to appreciate the gem you had within your grasp.”
“Oh, don’t ever mention his horrid name again. He was a beast to me. And now he’s done the same to Lady Alexandra. Everyone is gossiping about it. Their betrothal has fallen apart. I’ve never heard of such a thing happening so quickly. It’s highly unusual, isn’t it?
“This is who he is. A shortsighted, greedy man. I fully expect he will ruin all his chances for an advantageous marriage. The oaf will return to York with his tail between his legs, believing everyone has wronged him.”
She shook her head and sighed. “I hope he stays up there, and I never have to see him again. In truth, I’m more worried about Stoke’s daughter, Lady Melinda. I fear her situation is impossible. Now that I am about to be so happily married–”
“Within the hour, I hope.”
She cast him an indulgent smile, for he was like a dog with a bone and unwilling to give it up. “Yes, my love. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Poor Melinda. Loving you so deeply makes me sad to think she will never know this joy for herself.”
He reached for her hand. “Then, for her sake, I hope she is not experiencing true love. I would not wish that pain on her. We shall see what unfolds.”
Dahlia nodded. “Hopefully, nothing before the budget vote. I’ll send a note to her in the morning explaining that I am newly married and cannot start on the redecoration of her father’s study until after Christmas.”
“Right, you will be too busy engaging in hot, wild monkey sex with your new husband.”
She burst out laughing. “Ronan!”
“Teasing you, Queen Pea. But don’t think for a moment this isn’t foremost on my mind. I’ll just have to figure out how to accomplish it without putting myself in a coma.” Ronan finished slathering the unguent on his chest. He wiped his hands on the damp cloth Dahlia handed him and then set it aside on the night table. It irked him that he had to remain in bed like an old man, his feeble body propped against the pillows.
Dahlia sat beside him. “I can’t wait until I am permitted to stretch out beside you and talk to you, wife to husband. I look forward to closing the door behind me and nestling close to the handsomest man in existence.”
“I assume you are referring to me. You still find me handsome?”
She cast him a tender smile. “Exceptionally.”
“Lord, I’m in agony. I’m not sure I will last another hour without touching you.”
“Getting you properly healed is most important. Anyway, we won’t have much privacy until we are in your new home.”
“Our new home. Whatever I possess is yours, Queen Pea. My rib cage should be nicely healed by then. I haven’t spoken to Finn about the status of the purchase yet, but I’m sure the indenture deed has been drawn up and is merely awaiting Lady Wellbrook’s signature. I’ve been giving him such a hard time about obtaining the special license and the minister, that I think he will toss me out the window if I ask him anything else.”
“Would Miranda mind if we stayed with her until the new house is yours? It might help ease her into dealing with her own soon to be empty home.”
“I think she would enjoy having you with her. It will give her the chance to get to know you better. But no more talk of mothers and houses and forlorn duke’s daughters.”
“All right. I shall only think of you. Honestly, Ronan, even though we’ve read The Book of Love together, I still have so much to learn.”
“We’ll learn it together, Queen Pea.”
She nodded. “I’m still in disbelief we are getting married.”
“I’m not.” He spoke with surprising conviction. “We were meant to find each other and fall in love. It was going to happen with or without that book. Perhaps we would have hit more bumps along the way, made more mistakes. I know we would have moved slower toward this end. But I don’t regret our taking this leap. Will you give the book to Heather now?”
“I will, but not right away. She has a little more growing up to do, I think. She’s a young eighteen-year-old. Do you know what I mean? Robbie calls her a pixie, and I think it is apt because she is still a little girl in some ways. Not that I am one to judge. I was hardly a good example for her to follow. I think–”
Ronan suddenly pulled her forward and threw himself over her as something smashed through the window, sending shards of glass hurtling toward them. Most of the shards landed in a spray beside the window. But several sailed farther, landing dangerously close to the bed. “Queen Pea, are you all right?”
“What just happened?” she asked in a shaky breath.
“Someone tossed a rock through the window.” Under normal circumstances, he would have been on his feet, pistol drawn, and ready to chase after the culprit. But he couldn’t move. His lungs felt as though they were about to burst, and pain was shooting up both sides of his body. “Bollocks, I’ve ruined your gown.”
He was atop her, probably crushing her with his weight. They were chest to chest, and her bodice was smeared with the foul substance he had just applied to his wound.
She scrambled out from under him as he rolled off her with a grunt. “Ronan, are you all right? Can you breathe?”
“Yes, Queen Pea.” Bollocks. He lay on his back, seeing stars as pain continued to course through him.
“Dear heaven! I’ve never seen anyone move as fast as you did just now. How are you able to do this? And injured, no less? Don’t worry about my gown. Let me run down and get help.”
She ran out before he could stop her. He barely had time to wrap the sheet around himself before his brothers and Robbie tore into the room. Glass crunched beneath their boots as they hurried to the window.
A cold wind blew in through the broken panes. But he was still in a sweat and struggling to quell the fire in his chest, so he felt none of the chill.
“Whoever the blackguard was, he must have run off by now,” Robbie said. “We were just on our way out to fetch the minister, but...I’ll look around and see if I can find anyone still lurking suspiciously. Snow’s on the ground. There may be some tracks to follow.”
“I’m coming with you,” Tynan said.
Joshua ran a hand roughly through his hair. “Me, too.”
Finn stopped him. “I’ll go, Josh. This is your house. You’ll need to have the window repaired as soon as possible, and the shards of glass cleaned up. Who do you think did this?”
Joshua shook his head in dismay. “Hell if I know. It wasn’t aimed at me or Holly. Lord knows we’ve had our own headaches. This had to be someone angry with Ronan. Why else toss the rock through an upper floor window instead of into the parlor where we were all standing?”
“Or someone who is angry with Dahlia,” Finn mused, now frowning. “After all, until yesterday, this was her guest chamber.”
Unfortunately, Dahlia returned in
time to hear these last comments.
“Me?” She put a hand to her throat, and her face went ashen. “Who would want to hurt me?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Dahlia felt completely drained. It could not have been more than an hour before the window was replaced, the glass swept away, and Ronan safely settled back in bed, but it felt like an eternity to her.
Ronan was in pain. In typical fashion, he was too stubborn to admit to it. Fortunately, his breathing did not appear strained, nor did he appear to be in any worse discomfort than he’d been in before the rock was hurled at them.
Who had thrown it, and why?
She had no enemies.
In truth, Ronan had none either. Everyone was hailing him as a hero. Except perhaps Lord Peckham, but he did not seem the sort to hire a ruffian to cause overt destruction. Men like him were political weasels, sneaking behind an opponent’s back within the halls of Parliament to undermine that opponent’s power by duplicitous deal-making and snide innuendo.
What hurt most was this prank had ruined the gown she had chosen to wear for her wedding. Perhaps it was petty of her to feel this way, but she could not help it. Ronan was hurt, their wedding plans were rushed, and the beautiful gown she had intended to wear for the ceremony was covered in slime because Ronan had almost killed himself tossing his body over hers to protect her.
The members of their families, all of whom had been cheered to learn he was on the mend and that wedding plans were moving forward, were now quietly seated downstairs, too overset by what had happened to even crack a smile.
Dahlia, with Heather’s help, took a moment to change into another gown before returning to Ronan’s side. She knocked softly before entering his room while her sister went downstairs to join the others.
“Queen Pea,” he said, his eyes still etched with pain. “I’m so sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”
She shook her head. “This wasn’t your fault. Ronan, are we about to make a huge mistake? Perhaps we ought to put off our plans to marry.”
