An Unsuitable Match

by Sasha Cottman

  ‘He is after my dowry,’ Clarice replied.

  ‘Since there are now rumours that Susan’s dowry may have disappeared, Mr Fox clearly decided you were the surer bet. If Susan hadn’t swallowed her pride and revealed Fox’s dastardly plan to Lucy, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. When the dust from all this has settled, you may wish to find it in your heart to forgive her,’ he replied.

  Clarice squeezed him tighter.

  ‘Let go, Clarice; we need to talk.’

  She sighed but did as he asked.

  He rubbed his hands together in front of the fire, relieved when the pins and needles in his fingers signalled the return of sensation in his hands. Having spent much of his life in Scotland, he was well experienced in riding a horse through the peril of a tempest. Tonight, however, his skills as a horseman had been tested to their limit.

  After arriving in the village earlier, he had abandoned his driver and carriage, deciding to risk the journey in the fading light on horseback. The innkeeper had pleaded for him to wait out the storm, but as soon as David knew Thaxter Fox was in residence at Langham Hall, the hounds of hell could not have kept him from travelling on.

  ‘You say Fox is unconscious, that you have drugged him?’ he said turning to Lady Alice.

  ‘Yes. I slipped a little something into his brandy before dinner and also into his port. He should sleep like a lamb until at least morning,’ she replied.

  David raised an eyebrow, silently grateful that she was on his side. ‘And what did you plan to do with him once he wakes?’

  Lady Alice smiled and jangled the ring of keys she pulled out from under the cushion beside her.

  ‘The men who brought him up from London have not been paid. I offered them their outstanding wages, plus a little extra, to take him back to town tomorrow morning. They didn’t seem to need much more of an excuse to leave the sunny climes of Norfolk,’ she replied.

  He nodded. ‘Good.’

  ‘Grandmother and I were going to leave here early tomorrow and travel to Sharnbrook,’ Clarice added.

  The hope that flared in his heart warmed him more than the heat of the well-stoked fire. Clarice had been coming to find him. He looked to her and the blush of red on her cheek confirmed his suspicions.

  She reached into the top of her gown and, pulling on the chain around her neck, withdrew the pendant.

  ‘I had made my decision before Mr Fox got here.’ She gave a brief glance toward Lady Alice. ‘I’m not afraid any more. I will speak the truth to Papa and where that leaves us shall be his choice. All I know is that I have decided upon my future and it lies with you, David.’

  He stood for a moment, silently savouring her words, all the while wishing they were alone so he could kiss her senseless.

  David held a hand out to Lady Alice. ‘I should like to check on your guest if you don’t mind, your ladyship. I am dog-tired after my long journey, but I shall sleep more soundly if I am certain our friend is incapable of disturbing the peace before he is sent on his way tomorrow.’

  Lady Alice stood and headed for the door. ‘Follow me,’ she said.

  With Clarice’s hand held firmly in his, David followed the dowager down the long hallway. Toward the end was a door, similar in aspect to all the other doors that lined the hallway, except that two large chairs had been placed in front of it. In each of the chairs, covered by a warm blanket, slumbered a solidly built estate worker.

  ‘I thought you said the door was locked,’ David remarked.

  ‘It is, but I was taking no chances. I made the error of underestimating our Mr Fox when first I met him. I won’t make that mistake again,’ Lady Alice replied.

  By his side, he heard Clarice stifle a laugh. Something had changed in her during their brief time apart. She had rediscovered her spirit. Her spark.

  The men in the chairs stirred. One opened an eye, and seeing Lady Alice, shot to his feet. She waved a hand and bade him sit down.

  ‘Our guest has been quiet?’ David asked.

  The man gave a respectful bow. ‘Yes, sir, silent as the grave.’

  ‘Good man, get some sleep,’ he replied.

  He turned and was nearly at the top of the stairs when a sudden compulsion took hold of him.

  ‘The keys, please, Lady Alice,’ he said and held out his hand.

  Sleep would evade him if he didn’t set eyes upon his nemesis.

  He marched back down the hallway, leaving Clarice and her grandmother to wait for his return. Slipping the key into the lock, he opened the door and entered the room.

  The only light in the room was from the embers of the dying fire, but the shape of the fully dressed Thaxter Fox lying prone across the bed was unmistakable. Flat on his back, mouth open, he snored as he slept. The drool that had seeped from his mouth and onto the collar of his shirt would have been comical if it had been anyone else. If the circumstances had been different. Stepping closer, David loomed over his sleeping enemy. The ugly wound on his face was satisfactory evidence of Clarice’s self-defence. She had fought off this rogue and won a future for them.

  ‘She is mine, and the next time you so much as look at her I will thrash you to within an inch of your bloody life,’ he said, his voice clear and even.

  He marched from the room and locked the door behind him. He would deal with Thaxter Fox in the morning.

  Lady Alice remained in the drawing room long enough to pour them all a small celebratory drink. She raised a glass to Clarice and David and quickly downed the wine.

  ‘I just need to go and check on Cook, I shouldn’t be too long,’ she said as she slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

  Clarice chuckled and turned to David. ‘I would be surprised if she has ever set foot in the downstairs kitchen.’

  Barely had the words left her mouth when David pulled her into his arms, bent his head and kissed her.

  The first kiss they’d shared in the summerhouse had been tender and meant to woo, but this was an entirely different encounter.

  He didn’t wait for her to soften to his enticing lips; rather, his tongue filled her mouth in a clear statement of claim. Her body responded with a surge of desire. She put a hand to his head and boldly grabbed hold of his hair, pulling him down to her.

  He groaned and she exalted once more in the knowledge that she had a powerful effect on him. He began to trail kisses across her bruised cheek.

  ‘I will kill any man who tries to touch you,’ he breathed into her ear.

  ‘Only you, there will only ever be you,’ she whispered.

  Seizing the initiative, she tilted her head and caught his mouth once more. She had only been kissed twice in her life, but she was a quick learner. Nipping at his bottom lip with her teeth, she challenged him to give himself up to her.

  A deep sensual growl was her reward.

  He pulled her hard against his body, and she felt the hardness of his arousal. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she prayed her grandmother would take a very long time before she returned.

  They continued to meld their lips together, each giving and demanding more. When eventually they stepped back from one another, breathing hard as they sucked in air, Clarice held a hand to her swollen lips. Now she finally understood why Alex and Millie had fought so hard to be together. Looking at David, she knew without a doubt that he was her world.

  ‘I love you and I want to marry you,’ she said.

  The memory of watching him accept her words would remain long in her heart. He closed his eyes and slowly nodded.

  ‘I will do everything within my power to make you happy,’ he replied.

  In the days since she had made her decision, Clarice had thought long and hard about how they could be together. With her father opposed to the union, the answer was simple.

  ‘Come away with me to Scotland. We can be married as soon as we are across the border,’ she said. There was always the chance that circumstances might have changed David’s mind.

  He took hold of her
hand. ‘The day I make you my wife will be the happiest day of my life, but we cannot elope.’

  She scowled. Disappointed, but not surprised.

  ‘If I steal you away to Scotland, then we begin our marriage with a scandal. Your father will no doubt attempt to have it annulled, and due to my lack of legitimacy he may very well succeed. So my answer is no. We shall marry in front of family and friends in London, and the Bishop of London shall give us his blessing.’

  ‘Not wishing to start our first argument, but how exactly do you plan to get my father to agree to our marriage?’ she replied.

  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the top of her long, fair hair.

  ‘I was already intending to leave London to fetch you before I got word of Fox’s plans. The way to ensure that your father agrees to our union is the good old-fashioned way. I’m going to kidnap you,’ he replied and laughed deeply.

  After a nightcap, which Lady Alice assured David was not tainted by sleeping draught, he retired to the room which had been hurriedly made up for him. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he found himself grinning like a fool.

  The look on Clarice’s face when he informed her she was about to be kidnapped was utterly priceless. When he explained it to Lady Alice only a few minutes later, she’d simply raised an eyebrow and then nodded in agreement. His intended had stood wide-eyed and stared at the both of them.

  Now, as his head hit the soft pillow and the first wave of sleep washed over him, David smiled. Clarice had made her choice, and she had chosen him.

  ‘Foolish girl, how could you possibly think I was going to be that tractable? I won’t rest until Langham gives me his full and happy approval to marry you,’ he whispered into the darkness as he slipped beneath the ocean of sleep.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  The room was filled with morning light when David woke from his deep slumber. He stretched his fingers out over his head and to his surprise, his hand did not touch the familiar wooden headboard of his bed.

  Confused, he opened his eyes and looked around the room. Then he remembered where he was and softly chuckled. He was in a bedroom at Langham Hall, Norfolk. Home for the past three hundred years to the Langham family.

  Clarice’s home.

  He rolled over and stared at the door, imagining for a moment how good it would feel to see her come walking through the door. She would be clad in a nightgown of such diaphanous fabric that his imagination would not be required. She would come to his bed and gladly give all that he demanded of her.

  Last night Clarice had declared her love for him. Once more he found himself grinning like a fool. ‘She loves me,’ he said and shook his head in disbelief.

  A tap at the door stirred him from his pleasurable musing.

  ‘A moment, if you will,’ he called out. He quickly pushed all thought of Clarice’s naked form from his mind in an attempt to soften his now rock-hard body.

  His valet entered the room a short time later carrying David’s travel bag. Upon seeing David, a look of immense relief appeared on Bailey’s face.

  ‘Good to see you are awake, Mr Radley. I take it you had an uneventful ride here last night?’

  A wry smile formed on David’s lips.

  Bailey had begged him not to ride out into the storm. He had pleaded the hardship he would endure when he was forced to tell the Duke of Strathmore that his eldest son had died alone on the road. Probably in a rain-swollen ditch, he had added for dramatic effect. His heartfelt pleas had all been for naught. As soon as David had been able to find a calm enough mount, one that would not turn skittish on the road, he leapt on its back and headed to Langham Hall.

  ‘I hope you stayed close to the fire last night, but I trust not too close to the innkeeper’s daughter,’ David said.

  Did the man just blush?

  Bailey muttered a response, but seeing the look on David’s face, he smiled. David climbed out of bed.

  ‘A quick shave and wash this morning; I want us to be on the road shortly after breakfast,’ he said.

  ‘London, sir?’ Bailey replied.

  ‘Sharnbrook, Mr Bailey; I thought you would have more faith in me than that,’ he replied and gave his valet a slap on the back.

  ‘Very good, sir,’ Bailey replied.

  Over breakfast David shared his plans with Clarice and Lady Alice. The dowager countess sat quietly listening and then voiced her agreement. A slow orderly journey westwards, stopping only at the best of the roadside establishments. Nothing to draw attention to themselves.

  Clarice sat silently at the table. Wiping her mouth with her napkin, she rose from the table. David stood and bowed. He caught the look in her eye and his brow creased.

  ‘You are not happy with the arrangements?’ he asked.

  She lay the napkin down on the table and shrugged her shoulders.

  ‘I don’t know; I just thought I would have more time. Excuse me, I have to check that my wardrobe is ready for our departure.’

  In her bedroom Clarice stared at her travel trunks. How could she leave Langham Hall without telling David the truth of her past?

  Lady Alice tapped on the door.

  Clarice sighed and picked up her coat. She thrust one arm into a sleeve before Lady Alice entered and took hold of her arm.

  ‘Pouting and sighing will never get you anywhere, especially not with a man such as David Radley. Now, what is the matter?’

  ‘I thought I would have more time to decide exactly what to tell him,’ Clarice replied.

  Her grandmother brushed a gentle hand against Clarice’s cheek. ‘You tell him the truth if you want your marriage to be one based on love and honesty. Men are not mind readers; they do not respond to wishes or subtle hints. My advice is that if you are not prepared to be completely honest with him, then the best thing for us to do is to return to London. You have to be able to trust your future husband.’

  Clarice finished putting on her coat and wrapped a warm scarf around her neck. All it took was a moment of Lady Alice’s counsel and the clarity she so badly sought came to her.

  ‘I shall speak to David before we leave, but first things first: we need to be rid of Thaxter Fox.’

  As soon as David reached the floor where Thaxter Fox had been sleeping, he knew their prisoner was awake.

  The two estate workers who had spent the night keeping guard were sitting facing the door.

  Bang! Bang!

  The bedroom door rattled on its hinges and the two men exchanged an appreciative chuckle. ‘You would think his fists would be bloodied and sore by now,’ one of them remarked.

  As David approached the door banged once again.

  ‘I would say that was more like a hip and shoulder,’ he remarked. He stopped outside the door, lay an ear to it and listened. At the next attack on the door, he lifted his head away and nodded.

  ‘Yes, definitely hip and shoulder, with a string of foul words added for good measure.’

  He went back downstairs and located the driver and his mate from Thaxter’s carriage. After a brief discussion with them, David decided they were trustworthy enough to ensure that their master was returned to London.

  The third member of Fox’s travel party, his supposed man of business, was a small weasel-like creature, whom David took an instant dislike to as soon as he opened his mouth.

  ‘I ain’t wiv them; and I don’t work for that tosspot you’ve got locked up in his room. I’m here on me master’s business,’ he said with a sneer.

  ‘And what exactly is your master’s business? David replied.

  ‘Money. Your Mr Fox owes a lot of people some serious blunt. He promised if I came to Norfolk wiv him he would get us our money. So far I ain’t seen a blasted penny.’

  Deciding Thaxter’s cash problems were his own affair, David left the debt collector with the carriage. He then assembled a number of able-bodied male servants, who accompanied David back into the house and upstairs.

  Having thought long and hard as to how the feat wa
s to be accomplished, David decided the direct approach was the best. He strode to the door and knocked loudly on it. ‘Mr Fox, your carriage awaits.’

  ‘Open this bloody door!’ Thaxter bellowed from the other side.

  David looked to the men and nodded. ‘We are going to have to open the door if we are to be rid of Mr Fox.’

  He turned back to the door. ‘You may wish to take a step back, Mr Fox. The chap I have given my pistol to looks a mite nervous and I am afraid if you scare him, he may just put a bullet in you. If he does Cook will need to perform the surgery.’

  The unarmed men looked at one another and grinned. Cook really had made a mess of the stitches on Thaxter Fox’s face.

  ‘All right,’ came the reply from the bedroom.

  Taking the key he had retrieved from Lady Alice, David stepped up to the door and unlocked it.

  ‘Ready, gentlemen?’ he said as he swung the door open.

  Standing in the middle of the room, Thaxter looked quickly at David and then past him into the hall.

  ‘There are five of us, Fox, and several more at the top of the stairs. I personally don’t think even a man like you would chance it.’

  ‘I wondered how long it would take for you to come in search of your little whore,’ Thaxter spat back.

  The staff muttered their disapproval at the daughter of the house being referred to in such a manner, but David held up his hand. They fell silent.

  ‘Gentlemen, never allow an unworthy opponent to raise your ire. You are only playing into his hands.’

  He stood to one side of the door and beckoned for Thaxter to exit the room. ‘Shall we?’

  ‘It would appear I have little choice in the matter. Have my man bring my bag down to the carriage,’ Thaxter replied.

  He walked from the room and with two men in front and two behind, descended the stairs. David lingered for a moment in the room and picked up the travel bag.

  A very heavy travel bag.

  He put the bag on the bed, opened it and shook his head in disgust as he removed a folded jacket to reveal several large pieces of silverware that Thaxter had clearly intended to steal from the house. David tipped up the bag and emptied its contents on to the bed, then closed it and hurried from the room with the empty bag.