The cab shifted sharply, its weight forcing it to balance on one wheel.
Tom leaned to the other side, trying to create counterbalance. As if he were in some strange dream, the carriage slowly toppled to its side. His shoulder smashed against the wall as it hit the ground.
Horses cried and tugged the carriage on its side for several feet.
People yelled and barked orders.
Tom’s head spun and he had to blink to clear his vision. Head aching and shoulder screaming with pain, he righted himself ready to climb out of the door, which was now the top of the carriage.
The barrel of a pistol poked through the window with the scarred face of Sanford Wormfield. “You didn’t think a fine gentleman like Lord Hartly would let a nobody like you walk away with his prize, did you?”
Fury roiled in Tom’s gut. If he hadn’t had Dory to go home to, he would have rushed the man and his pistol with no regard for his own life. Threats only served to sharpen his senses and feed his resolve. “Dorothea is my wife and killing me will not change anything. I have made arrangements for her to be a wealthy widow.”
“It don’t make no difference to his lordship. He will have her even if he must use her father as leverage to get her. You don’t think that sweet thing will let her father die, do you?” Grinning, Wormfield exposed rotting teeth. Even at a distance, his fetid breath soured the air.
Dory would not be able to withstand threats to her father even after all he’d done. If Tom died, she would end up with Hartly and this monster. “Shoot me, then, and you will go to jail for a crooked old man.”
“I’m well compensated, and once the carriage goes in the river, the evidence will be washed away. This time of day, no one of note will have seen a thing.” He pulled back the hammer on the pistol.
“That will be enough of that.” James called from somewhere in the street. “Now you just ease that gun out of Mr. Wheel’s carriage and step down. We have your men in custody and I have heard more than enough to get you sent down to Australia and might even do some damage to that lord you work for, too.”
The click of several pistols being readied sounded from the street as Wormfield turned away from the window.
“I’m innocent. Lord Hartly made me come after Mr. Wheel. It’s all his doing.”
“I am sure of that. Now put the pistol down and climb off that carriage,” James said.
The carriage shook and Wormfield moved out of Tom’s view.
Tom climbed up the seat and threw open the carriage door. It slammed against the carriage.
“All right there, Tom?” James asked.
“Just a few bruises, James. It took you long enough.”
“You’re lucky we managed to follow at all as fast as the maniac was driving. We nearly lost you round the first bend. Then I needed to hear the evidence before I stepped in, didn’t I?”
“I am relieved you arrived in time,” Tom admitted.
Mally sprinted up the street toward them with a distinct limp in his left leg. “Sir. They grabbed me and tossed me from the carriage. I tried to follow.”
Tom jumped down to the street. “You are hurt. James, call a doctor.”
“I’m all right, sir. It’s nothing. Do you think the horse will go home?” Mally stared at where the bridle had ripped away from the wreck.
Tom helped Malley into a Scotland Yard carriage. “James, can you see if your men can find my horse and bring her home?”
“It was the Earl of Hartly. I’m innocent.” Wormfield struggled against two of Hardwig’s men before they locked him in a wagon bound for jail.”
Shaking his head, James approached Tom. “What do you want to do about his lordship?”
“I suggest we pay him a call, Inspector. I may get something good out of that pig after all. I think he owes me now, and there are some children in Middlesex who need a school. Perhaps Lord Hartly will think it a good idea to pay for renovations rather than go to prison or at the very least be left socially dead.”
“Just tell me when, Tom. You know, whenever I see you, it is great fun.” James pounded Tom’s back and walked away.
Tom told the driver to take he and Malley home.
* * * *
It wasn’t very ladylike, but Dory was waiting outside at the top of the steps when his carriage pulled up. It was daylight and she gleamed like an angel. She rushed down the steps as soon as he stepped out. “Are you hurt? Your face is bruised. What happened? Why are you in this carriage? Is Mally limping?”
Unable to stop himself, he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her until his head spun.
Her gasp gave him opportunity to deepen the kiss. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed against him.
Giggles sounded from the doorway.
Daniel cleared his throat. “You are giving your neighbors quite a show. Perhaps you might take all that inside the house.”
Laughing, Michael said, “We may need to call the fire brigade.”
Inside the house, she held him near the door while the others went to the study.
“Crowly, Mally needs a doctor. Can you see to it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Keeping her hand in his, Dory waited for Crowly and Mally to disappear through the door to the servant’s stairs. “What happened? Are you all right?”
“I am fine. The carriage is destroyed, but we have what we need to keep Hartly from ever bothering us again.”
Lavender filled his senses and shot waves of desire through his body. “I think we should rush through visiting, go to the music room, and play until we cannot help but rip each other’s clothes off.”
The most stunning pink filled her cheeks. “I could do that without playing a note.”
He pulled her into his arms and took the steps two at a time.
“Tom, we have guests who stayed all night waiting for news of you.” Despite the urgency of her tone, she threaded her fingers through his hair.
Fighting taking her on the steps, he made it to their bedroom door. “They will figure it out in a few minutes and go home. We can make it up to them later. I love you, Dory. I do not wish to share you with anyone right now or maybe ever again.”
“We cannot stay locked in the bedroom indefinitely.” She pulled him down as he rested her on the bed.
Nibbling her soft shoulder and up along her neck to the back of her ear pushed little gasps and sighs from her delicious lips. “Just for a while, then. I will share you in a few days when we go to visit Mother.”
“Mm, yes, a few days. Until then you are all mine.”
Tom’s heart was full to overflowing. “I thought you were all mine.”
“We must agree to disagree on that point, my love.” She kissed along his jaw.
“Perfect.”
Epilogue
One Year Later
Dory let the music take her where love and light met and euphoria blanketed her from head to toe. It was the last piece she would play for the evening and she lost herself in the sorrow and joy. Notes rolled into phrases and trilled from her fingertips in an emotional story, which pulsed through the cavernous music hall. She sat up straight for the Crescendo, heart pounding. Then, breathing as she reached the Delicato of the final notes, she relaxed.
The last note vibrated against the strings inside the pianoforte and faded to silence. Resting her fingers on the ivory keys, Dory breathed in the silence.
A clap shattered the quiet. A second set of hands joined the first in a tentative staccato.
The hall erupted into a hail of cheers, bravos, and applause.
Somewhere between horror and relief, Dory’s heart found its normal rhythm. She indulged in two long breaths before sliding to the edge of the bench. Once standing, she took a moment to steady her shaking legs and curtsied to the large audience at the royal hall.
In the ce
nter of the front row, the Prince of Wales stared at her, his flop of curly brown hair as unruly as ever and his royal robes a rich burgundy. He stood with eyes so intense she wondered if she had dirt on her face.
The hall fell silent. Never had a woman performed such as Dory had tonight. Some things, no matter how beautiful, were still aberrant to the ton. If Prince George cut her, she was finished as a musician and in society. With one word, this man could ruin her.
With tears in his eyes, Prince George gave Mrs. Dorothea Wheel a nod.
Heart in her throat, she curtsied, dropping until her head was inches from the floor. When she rose, His Royal Highness’s lips twitched in a half-smile.
The audience resumed their vigorous clapping, stopping only long enough to bow to Prince George as he left with his entourage. He shone as bright as the gilded walls and the ton moved in a wave of colors like spring flowers. It was a rainbow of indulgence and he was the center of it.
Thomas, dressed in elegant black with a crisp white cravat, rushed up the three steps to the stage and took her hand. “Magnificent, my love. You were the best I have ever heard you. I could not be more proud.”
His pride sent a surge of warmth through her. “Thank you, Tom. I have to admit, while it feels good to have done it, I am quite glad it is over.”
A smile spread across his handsome face as he threaded her hand through the crook of his elbow and accompanied her down to the crowd waiting to give her their approval. “You have done it, and if you choose to never do it again, this night will be remembered as the greatest musical event for years to come.”
“And would you be satisfied if I never perform in public again?” The question had haunted her for months as she prepared for her debut concert.
He stopped short of the main floor and leaned close to her ear. “This night is about you, my love. I am only a grateful spectator. I have the supreme honor of hearing you play daily. Doing this, accomplishing what you did tonight, was for you and you alone. Enjoy it. If you never play in public again, I will love you as much as I do today and feel just as lucky to call you my wife.”
The tension eased around her gut and she took a breath before scanning the crowd for their friends. Markus had not come, but Elinor, Michael, Sophia, and Daniel were there.
Even her young brother Adam was in attendance. He ran over, all legs and arms, to give his congratulations. “You really were good, Dory. I cannot wait to tell my mates at school that my sister played for the Prince. No one will believe it.”
Dory hugged him. “Thank you, Adam.”
At the back of the room, Margaret Flammel watched.
Dory met Mother’s gaze over Adam’s shoulder.
With a nod, Margaret smiled and left the hall.
Tears filled Dory’s eyes and she dashed them away, pushing down the brick of emotion lodged in her throat. It shouldn’t have matter what Mother thought, but seeing the pride in her eyes washed away a lifetime of censure. The irony was if Margret had given her approval years before, Dory might have felt no need to have the heir to the crown of England validate her skill.
Sophia pushed through the crowd and grabbed Dory in a hug.
Elinor had cried a river, making her eyes red and her nose swollen. “You played as if no one was watching, Dory. You broke my heart and mended it a dozen times tonight. I wish I could bottle up the perfection you created and take it home with me.”
Always her greatest musical admirer, Elinor’s praise brought Dory to tears, which she pushed down by biting the inside of her cheek. “I am glad you enjoyed it, and you know I will play for you anytime you like.”
Friends and acquaintances paid their respects to Dory. Some congratulated Thomas, though he brushed those off, saying it was not he who played.
* * * *
It was hours before they could leave the Royal Music Hall and go home. In the privacy of their bedroom, Tom poured them each a brandy before sitting by the fire.
He had spent most of his life wishing to have the gifts he so admired in Dory. Watching her play to the most prestigious crowd in London had been a singular moment in his life. Even a year later, he was in shock every time he considered his good fortune. Why she would want him when she could have had anyone was still a mystery to him, but he thanked God every day for his luck. “Now that you have done what you thought only a man could do, what will you attempt next?”
Wearing her nightshift and wrap, she shivered and pulled the wool blanket from the hassock. Snuggling in, she sipped the brandy. “I do have a project in mind, but I shall need your approval, Tom.”
“Since when do you require my permission to do anything?” Tom put down his drink and pulled the lap harp close before he strummed a C chord. One of his favorite parts of the day was how they finished each day with music. Some nights they indulged in a session in the music room and more than once the downstairs maid had discovered them after dawn. Usually, she found them asleep on the chaise, but more than once she found them nude and sprawled on the rug by the hearth.
Tom suspected his staff enjoyed a good giggle over some of the antics Dory and he engaged in while sharing their love for each other and music.
She put the brandy down. “For this, it is necessary that you and I work together.”
Intrigued, he played a G chord. “Have you been working on a duet for us?”
Her cheeks turned the loveliest shade of pink. “No, but that’s not a bad idea. What I had in mind is more permanent.”
Heart racing, he put aside the harp. “You are not leaving.” Part of him meant it to be a question, but desperation forced out a command.
Eyes wide, she shot forward and knelt before him grabbing his hands. “Never again, Tom. I will never leave you. You must toss me from this house if you wish to get rid of me.”
The knife, which had stabbed him in the heart, eased back and he breathed. Lifting her from the carpet, he pulled her into his lap. “What then, Dory? What could you want that you are so hesitant to speak about?”
Still on his lap, she pulled the harp close and strummed the most beautiful few notes. Her bottom fitted against him with perfect symmetry and his body responded to both her form and the gentle glide of her hands on the strings. He may have imagined the vibration from the harp shooting to his groin, but all the same, he wanted her to continue.
A few more phrases plucked from her fingers then she pressed both palms to the strings, stopping the music. “I would like to start a family, Tom.”
All the air rushed out of his lungs. “I did not think you wanted children. You have not mentioned it.”
She rested her head on his shoulder and pulled one finger across the full set of strings. “I have thought of it on the occasions when enjoying my friends’ children. However, of late it has been more and more on my mind. I would like to be a mother. I pray I will be better at the task than my parents were, though I fear I will fall into the same category.”
If a heart could burst from joy, his was at the brink of eruption. “You are nothing like either of your parents, my love. Our children will be loved openly just as we love each other. It is honesty that pulled our hearts together and that is how we will always go forward.”
“Does that mean you would like to have a child?” This shyness from Dory intrigued him.
Thomas pulled the hassock forward with his foot and moved them so that Dory sat between his legs with the harp in front of her. He put his hands on the strings above hers. “It means I can think of nothing I would love more than to have a child with you. I know you will be a wonderful mother.”
“I am not as certain, but you will make up for what I lack.” She strummed several chords.
Moving his hands to the deeper notes, he attempted a counterpoint. It was surprisingly successful. “Perhaps we might write a duet for the harp.”
Her laugh was full and round and made his heart sing.
“I think perhaps we should attempt that on two harps, Tom.”
Pulling her bottom tighter into his groin, he nuzzled her neck. Her soft blond waves tickled his face and her scent intoxicated him. “You do not wish to play a duet as we are now?”
Leaning her head gave him better access to her soft skin. She played the melody from the Sonata in G. “I do not mind, but for whom would we play such a duet?”
He fumbled the harmony, hitting the same string as her on two occasions, but then he found the balance and the sound filled the room. “Do you think our friends would be shocked by a duet on the harp?”
She kissed his jaw and let her hand trail along his thigh. “I do not know of a society function where our sitting like this would be acceptable. Not even amongst our closest friends.”
With her right hand, she played at a speed he had no hope of keeping up with. Still, he plucked out the harmony as best he could. “Perhaps then, we shall need to purchase a second harp and save the duet on one harp for the bedroom.”
Craning her neck, she met his gaze. “You would play harp in public, wouldn’t you?”
Lord, how he loved the way she looked when he surprised her. Her eyes filled with a wonder only he inspired. He would spend his life finding ways to keep her so inspired if only for his own selfish reasons. “I find no shame in making beautiful music with you regardless of the instrument.”
“Shall we play it at the Royal Music Hall then?” Dory raised an eyebrow.
It was one thing to play the harp for his friends, but he doubted his skill level was paramount to playing for the Prince of Wales. “Perhaps not right away.”
The music of her laughter filled his life in ways Thomas had never imagined possible. The harp strings sang in perfect accompaniment to his happiness. He captured her lips with his and her fingers faltered.
Moving the harp aside, he deepened the kiss and enwrapped her in his arms. “Dory, do you know how happy you have made me?”
She brushed the hair from his forehead in a gesture that had become intimate over the last year. “Only half as happy as you make me, Tom.”
Desperate Bride Page 25
