At the front door, her father took the small bag the driver handed him and her mother opened her arms for an embrace which Tillie ran into, tears starting afresh .
* * *
S he confessed the entire thing in her family’s sitting room – well, nearly the entire thing. She left out the late-night liaisons. With her head in mother’s lap, she poured out her heart to her parents and prayed they would find it within themselves to eventually forgive her. She was ashamed of herself and heartbroken all at the same time .
“I was such a fool,” she sobbed as her mother stroked her hair. “I thought I was so very clever — that I could have my own way and have a life that I wanted and made for myself .”
Her tears wouldn’t stop and it seemed to be more than her father could bear. He pushed himself to his feet and paced back and forth around the room, nearly wearing a path in the carpeting .
“You say you love him? And that he loves you ?”
She had believed those statements to be true. She really had .
“I cannot be sure now,” she said. “I do love him, yes. As for how he feels — I am not sure. He was keeping so much from me .”
Her father scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed .
“Matilda Olive Andrews,” he said. She braced at the sound of her entire name, despite the gentle tone. “I am sorry .”
She blinked. Her father was apologizing. For what? She looked to him as her mother stroked her back .
“I am sorry I did not trust you to make decisions for yourself, so much so that you would help concoct a plan as creative and deceptive as the one that took you to Warfield,” he said. “I should be furious at you and I partly am, especially since you were willing to walk the roads in the middle of the night to get back here, but mostly I am sorry that I didn’t trust you with your own life. Take your time, girl, in the next few days, and really think about what you want. I will not force you to marry and if you choose to get old and take care of your mother and me for the rest of your days, so be it. It will be your own choice .”
They were the words she’d always wanted to hear, but now they seemed to come too late, when what Tillie really wanted was to be the wife of a man who seemed so unreachable now .
“Take your time and heal your heart,” her father continued. “And if that duke is worth any bit of his noble blood, he shall be on my doorstep in the next few hours begging your forgiveness. No notes. No servants. You will accept nothing less than the man himself, and only if you choose to do so, do you understand ?”
She nodded through her tears, though not believing she would hear from Alexander anytime soon. He was wrapped up in his own life — one that didn’t seem to have space for her when it really mattered .
* * *
A lexander had been distraught when he was told Tillie had left in the middle of the night. He was angry at her for not trusting him, and for leaving without regard for her own safety. He was angry with himself for letting her go and not giving her the total truth. And he was certainly angry with Eliza for her games, although he realized he likely should have thrown her out ages ago, and probably should never have allowed her family to come in the first place .
He was tempted to chase after Tillie that night, but he knew she was with a trustworthy groom, and he had issues of his own at the manor to look after. Issues that included a dying man and a tormented friend. Leaving was not an option, and he knew Tillie, while angry, wasn’t in any immediate danger .
He did, however, send a flurry of notes after her, asking for her forgiveness, her return, and her understanding. He heard nothing back. Not a word. He could understand her reaction to the scene she had walked in on, but he also felt she owed him the chance to explain himself. He wished she could have trusted him to do as he saw fit. Although, he supposed, she likely had hoped just as much that he would trust her to tell her the truth of the matter .
He sighed. Part of the reason he had let her go, and stay away, was also that he wanted to protect her. There was much happening that he was unsure of, and he didn’t want to risk Tillie’s life or well-being. The safest place she could be was away from him in London .
The moment he had everything sorted out at Warfield Manor, he was in his carriage, urging his groom to make for London as fast as he could push the horses. He hated the days that had gone by with so much unresolved between them, and only the extenuating circumstances could have kept him from Tillie. He ached to see her again, to hold her again, and to make sure he knew how she truly felt about him. He couldn’t stand to have another day go by without her by his side .
He wanted answers regarding her silence, and he would provide her with the explanation she sought. First, he had to convince her to listen to him. He began to formulate a plan in his mind .
* * *
A lexander Landon, Duke of Barre, had never been quite as nervous as when he knocked on the door of the Andrews home in London. It was an impressive house, particularly for a family outside of the aristocracy. He had great respect for Baxter Andrews, who had made his own way in the world, from a carpenter’s son to a shrewd businessman .
Alexander knew it would take more than calling upon Tillie to have her speak to him. He just wondered how many of her brothers he would have to go through to get to her .
The butler brought him into the house, and left him in the sitting room while he found Baxter. Alexander was tapping his foot when the man walked into the room, flanked by six of his sons. Alexander stood abruptly at the seven men in front of him. How fortunate it was the holiday season, he thought sarcastically. They all seemed to be at home .
“Duke of Barre,” Baxter said, with emphasis on the “Duke.” “You’ve finally arrived. Please, sit. You may not be familiar with all of my sons. Maxfield, Ethan, Nigel, Christopher, Stephen, and Thompson. Ambrose is currently — otherwise occupied .”
“How wonderful to make your acquaintance, sirs,” said Alexander, with a slight bow to the men, some who sat next to their father on the chesterfield, the others lounging about the room on various pieces of furniture, or standing against the wall. “Tillie — Matilda — has told me so much about you all.” Including how protective of her they were, he thought, although he didn’t voice that concern out loud .
“I have heard much of you as well, Duke,” Nigel replied. “None of it of late has been much good, I’m afraid .”
Alexander nodded his understanding to him. “I apologize for this,” he said. “Tillie and I did not part on the best of terms, but I hope to change this. May I speak with her ?”
“Matilda is not in at the moment,” said Baxter. “What do you wish to say to her that has taken you four days to determine ?”
“To be fair sir, I tried to send messages —”
“I am aware .”
“There were circumstances at Warfield that I did not want Tillie exposed to,” he said cryptically. Seeing Baxter required more of an explanation, Alexander told him what he could of the night Tillie had left, of what had transpired regarding the injured man and his own friend .
“You say you allowed her to leave your home for her own safety,” said Ethan. “That leaves us with serious misgivings about entrusting her in your care in the future .”
“The situation is rectified, Mr. Andrews,” Alexander said. “I would never put Tillie in harm’s way. And, to be fair, Tillie will always care for herself. I would simply aid in that endeavor .”
“What do you want now?” asked another brother. Alexander thought it was Christopher, but he couldn’t be sure .
“What is most important, Mr. Andrews,” he said, addressing Baxter, “Is that I love your daughter, and I would very much like to make her my wife. Do I have your permission ?”
Baxter studied him, taking measure of him. He seemed to be satisfied with what he found .
“You have my permission,” he said with a nod. “But most importantly, you must acquire hers .”
Alexander nodded. “For that, I may need some assi
stance .”
18
F our days.
Not a single word in four bloody days, Tillie groused as she crumpled another sheet of paper in the freezing cold storeroom of her father’s office building. She used the abandoned room as a makeshift studio when her own home was too loud and chaotic and she’d sought out a little peace a few days after arriving back from Warfield .
Mostly, she just wanted to be out of the house because it was a constant reminder that Alexander hadn’t come for her. That he wasn’t coming for her. All of her brothers were also home, and they all tiptoed around her as if she were a porcelain doll. She was quite exasperated with it all .
She’d stabbed herself with stick pins more times than she cared to count and the cold was making her extremities numb .
Tillie knew she needed to return home but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, despite the danger of catching her death of a cold from the drafty, freezing conditions she worked in .
Death from a cold would be much more acceptable to her now than death from a broken heart .
“Pitiful,” she cursed at her bleeding fingers as she slid into the chair behind her and laid her head on the desk, biting her lip to keep from crying. Again. She was a lost cause at this point and she was certain she was doomed to spend the rest of her life alternating between sewing her father’s socks and collapsing into a soggy emotional puddle at a moment’s notice .
Drawing in a breath, she pushed herself to her feet and began to tidy the desk. It didn’t matter, nobody used the space but her, but she hated to see all of her supplies in disarray, even if they were a good metaphor for her emotions and sanity at this point .
Ambrose appeared in the doorway and cleared his throat .
She swiped at her eyes and looked up .
“Yes?”
The worry on his face was evident. All of her brothers were worried about her, even Max, who set his book down whenever she walked into the room to wait for the next emotional storm to hit. Max never said much, but he did offer her his handkerchief whenever the tears started .
“Let’s go home, Tillie,” Ambrose said gently. “Mamma has sent the carriage for us and I hear they have prepared your favorite potato soup .”
She hadn’t eaten much and she knew the family was worried about her health now that a few days had passed .
“I don’t mind walking, Ambrose,” she said as she made her way toward the door. “I can meet you at home if you have other things to attend to and need the carriage .”
Her brother shook his head .
“Go on ahead to the carriage,” he said. “I will be there shortly .”
Tillie wasn’t in a mood to put up much of a fight anymore, so she simply nodded and walked to the waiting carriage .
The driver came down and helped her inside. She crawled through the door and took her seat, then froze .
Someone was already in the carriage with her and it wasn’t one of her brothers, which she had originally assumed. The spicy, soapy scent hit her hard and she sucked in a breath .
“Alexander,” she whispered and he looked up at her and removed his hat. The sad smile he gave her nearly broke her heart again, but she bit her lip .
“Matilda Andrews,” he began, his voice scratchy and worn. “You have ignored every message I’ve sent you these past 96 hours. Every. Single. One. Explain yourself .”
She frowned at him .
“I have not received a single word from you the past four days,” she replied. “Not a message. Not a note. And certainly not any of the answers I needed so badly the night I left. And if you were sending me notes , I can tell you now that my father would have burned them in the fireplace on the spot. Notes are for cowards .”
A look of pain flashed in his eyes at the accusation .
“I will start with this: when I told you that I loved you, when I told you that you were mine and you were going to be my duchess very soon, I wasn’t lying. Those words were, and are, still very much true,” he said. “So no matter how angry you are, no matter the extensive amount of bodily damage your father and brothers have promised me should I hurt you again, we shall return to Warfield Manor and I am requesting a special license from the vicar to marry you this month .”
He said the words with finality and crossed his arms .
“You are deluded,” she said. “You think you can show up in my carriage and tell me what I am going to do with my life? If my father knew you were here, he would murder you with his own hands .”
Alexander snorted at that .
“He did threaten to remove my head from my body if I ever hurt you again once I had explained everything to him,” Alexander said. “But who do you think sent me here in your carriage ?”
Her father, she thought with a bitter laugh .
“So explain,” she said, knowing her father would have required an explanation himself .
That got a small smile from him .
“First, Eliza Masters is never welcome in our home again,” he said. “She practically launched herself at me when I arrived in the room that night looking for you and would not stop to explain the reason for her tears. What you walked in on was just as confusing for me as it was for you and I had one arm around the back of her shoulders to keep the two of us from falling off the sofa to the floor, which would have been even more difficult to explain .”
She searched his eyes and found the truth. Taking in a deep breath she finally nodded .
“It seems the duke she’d been pursuing since breaking things off with me announced his engagement the night of the party,” Alexander explained. “The current guess is that she was hoping to be caught by you so that you would break off our engagement and free me up for a second snaring in her net, though I dare say from that frightening way you reacted, Eliza Masters is terrified of you .”
Tillie frowned .
“I didn’t do anything,” she protested and Alexander laughed quietly .
“No, but that emotionless, deadly tone you spoke to me in was a thing of nightmares that I think will take years to get over .”
That cracked a small smile from Tillie, which must have encouraged him .
“And the bloody man — literally, the bloody man ...”
She steadied herself .
“Unfortunately, he died the next morning, which was why I was unable to come to you immediately,” he said. “He was a friend of the man you might have seen pacing in the background, Lord Bradley Hainsworth, Duke of Carrington. Carrington is an old school friend of mine and a true friend, to be sure. They had just returned from France together and from what I can piece of the story, they were betrayed by someone close to them .”
How awful, Tillie thought. The poor man had been in so much pain. And his friend had been so distraught .
“Why could you not tell me any of this when I asked ?”
Alexander moved forward and captured her hands in his, his eyes searching hers .
“I did not understand what was going on myself,” he said. “I do not know what Bradley is into these days and who he is associating himself with. Suffice to say there are characters in his past that I would not want within ten city blocks of you and if I told you too much of what was going on, if you saw anything you were not supposed to see, I may not have been able to protect you .”
She took in a deep breath and met his eyes. They were burning into hers, despite the dark shadows beneath them. It looked like he had been sleeping about as poorly as she had .
“So it’s that simple, is it?” She was teasing him now. “You just steal my father’s carriage, tell me what I want to hear, and take me home ?”
He nodded .
“If by home, you mean our home, then yes, Matilda,” he said, pressing a kiss to her lips. “It is that simple .”
Her heart fluttered at the contact .
“I suppose that’s good then,” she said. “It is already complicated enough between us .”
He laughed and pulled her onto his
lap so he could wrap his arms around her waist .
“Back to the Andrews home, Charles,” he yelled out the window to the driver .
She giggled as he squeezed her tighter into him .
“But to be clear, Alexander, I will not be ordered about. Ask me nicely and perhaps I will agree to marry you,” she told him .
He grinned. “I love that saucy mouth.” He planted another kiss on it, before doing his best to kneel in front of her within the confines of the carriage .
“Matilda Olive Andrews,” he said, looking up at her, “Will you marry me ?”
“Absolutely, on one condition,” she said. “You will never repeat the name Olive again .”
“Agreed, love,” he said, and seated himself next to her once again, pulling her tight towards him .
“Do not ever run off like that again, Tillie,” Alexander whispered into her neck as he placed gentle kisses along her skin. “If you try, I’m going to have to tie you to my bed and keep you there permanently .”
That got a laugh out of her .
“Is that a challenge, my lord ?”
He nipped her neck again and pulled her hard against his chest .
“It is, my love,” he said, turning her in his arms for a deeper kiss. “Try to run from me again and you’ll be kept naked in my bed forever .”
The very thought thrilled her and must have been evident in her expression because Alexander gave a pained groan .
“You’ll be the death of me, Matilda,” he said as he leaned her back against the cushions to show her how much he loved her She moaned at the contact and moved against him as he claimed her mouth in a scorching kiss .
Epilogue
T he wedding was grand. Grander than any affair in recent memory in the village of Warfield and the residents never recalled seeing a more resplendent bride or a happier groom .
Tillie had been overjoyed when the day before the wedding, Tabitha and Nicholas had arrived at the manor. She hadn’t thought they would be able to make it, and when she heard who had been announced, she ran through the halls to the home’s entrance, launching herself at her best friend .
Someday Her Duke Will Come Page 11
