by Georgie Lee
Joanna smiled sheepishly at him. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner, before all this expense and effort. I should have told you how much Luke meant to me instead of allowing things to go on for so long.’
‘And I should have listened instead of trying to make you do things my way. Don’t worry about the expense, I can afford it.’ He chuckled before turning serious. ‘But you have no time to waste if you want to claim your young man.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Lord Jarsdel told me Major Preston purchased a commission and is leaving to rejoin his regiment tomorrow.’
‘Then I must see him, at once.’ She didn’t know if she could win him back, or if he still wanted her. With her grandfather’s blessing secured, she had to try before he was beyond her reach.
‘Take the carriage and go to his parents’ house in Kensington. They can summon him from the Army Service Club to speak with you.’
Assuming he would. No, she had to believe she’d succeed. She gathered up the veil, about to rush to the door, then stopped. ‘What about Lord Jarsdel, shouldn’t I tell him?’
‘I’ll talk to him and don’t worry too much about it. He’s a man with a great deal of experience who can deal with a little disappointment. If nothing else, his sons will be relieved to not have to share their inheritance with any new half siblings.’ He laid a tender kiss on her forehead, then examined her with the same pride Madame Dubois had shown. ‘For all my pig-headedness in regards to Major Preston, I do believe he will make you happy. You haven’t glowed this much in all the time you’ve been with me.’
‘Thank you, Grandfather.’ Joanna grabbed the hem of her dress and rushed out of the church. She hurried down the steps and into her grandfather’s open-topped landau. The driver turned around, stunned.
‘Shouldn’t you be inside, Miss Radcliff?’
‘No, drive on at once.’
‘Where to?’
Joanna considered his question. If they went to Kensington it would waste valuable time. Luke might leave for Greenwich or Portsmouth and she would miss him. There was only one place she could go. ‘The Army Service Club on St James’s Street.’
The driver shook his head. ‘No respectable woman can be seen riding alone there, much less going into a gentlemen’s club. What would Lord Helmsworth say?’
‘He’s the one sending me there.’ It was a white lie, but a necessary one. She wouldn’t be stopped by a coachman. ‘Now hurry, we must reach Major Preston before he leaves. It’s urgent.’
‘If Lord Helmsworth wants it.’ The driver shrugged, then took up the reins and flicked them over the backs of the horses, setting them off in the direction of St James’s.
Joanna unpinned the long veil from her hair and laid it on the seat beside her. She’d walked away from one suitor and was about to toss aside her already questionable reputation for another. If Luke refused to see her, she’d never recover from the scandal. It didn’t matter, she had to try. She loved him and it was time to fight for his heart.
* * *
‘Sir, there’s a young lady here insisting to see you.’ Tibbs, the club butler, announced to Luke. ‘She’s in her wedding dress.’
Silence settled over the party which seconds before had been quite rowdy.
‘A lady in her wedding dress?’ Luke questioned. He hadn’t drunk enough to have his brain so fuddled he couldn’t understand the butler. ‘What’s her name?’
‘Miss Radcliff. I tried to tell her women aren’t allowed in here, but she won’t listen.’
‘It seems your lady has had a change of heart and at the altar of all places.’ Reginald threw back his head and laughed.
Luke could only stare at his friend, stunned. Joanna hadn’t married Lord Jarsdel. She’d walked away from him and come here of all places. Excitement as much as curiosity pulled Luke out of his chair. He should stay where he was and not debase himself any further with her, but he couldn’t.
‘Show her in, Tibbs, I’m dying to meet the woman who’s captured Luke’s heart,’ Reginald ordered before Luke could answer.
‘No, I’ll go to her.’ Luke pushed past the butler and into the hallway.
He elbowed his way through the huddle of soldiers gawking at Joanna from along the balustrade at the top of the entrance-hall stairs. Luke jerked to a stop at the sight of her. She stood beneath the high ceiling of the columned room, a feminine contrast to the arms and weapons, men and battlefield paintings surrounding her. Her smooth skin was radiant against the white silk of her dress. Her light hair was done up in little ringlets woven with small, white flowers which shivered each time she took a breath. The sight of her was more glorious and beautiful than the first sunrise after the close cannonball blast had knocked him unconscious. He’d awakened that morning thankful to be alive, like he was at this moment in the presence of her beauty.
The confidence of her arrival was betrayed by the twisting of her gloved hands in front of her and the nervous dart of her eyes to the sniggering men staring at her. Luke couldn’t leave her to suffer their curiosity and marched down the stairs towards her.
‘Luke,’ she exclaimed at the sight of him, her smile increasing her radiance. The intensity of it almost made him halt, but he continued on, taking her by the arm and drawing her into a small room off the entrance hall. There was no door here and nothing to stop the officers from shuffling by as they gathered outside, not too close, but close enough to hear, as curious as a bunch of cats.
‘What are you doing here?’ Luke demanded, aware of each subtle move of her lovely arm beneath his fingers. He let go, not wanting to be so affected by her presence, or her cherry blossom-scented skin. He’d left her to protect her relationship with her grandfather. He didn’t want his weakness or hers to make him renege on his promise. ‘You’re supposed to be at the church getting married.’
‘I’m not going to marry Lord Jarsdel. I love you too much to pledge myself to him.’
It was as if Luke had been concussed by the cannonball all over again. For two weeks he’d thought her lost to him, now she was proclaiming her love to him and everyone listening outside the door.
‘Please, don’t tell me it’s too late.’ Her eyes shone like the ocean at sunset as she studied him. ‘Grandfather isn’t against us any more. He told me about the promise he extracted from you and he won’t hold you to it.’
Luke didn’t believe what he was hearing and he forced himself not to march back to the sitting room and drain his tankard. Luke had been relieved from his obligation to his family. Now he’d been released from his promise to Lord Helmsworth and Joanna was here before him, as free to be with him as he’d dreamed of in the country. It was everything he’d wanted since the ball at Pensum Manor and yet he still couldn’t have her. ‘I leave for Spain tomorrow to rejoin the regiment.’
‘Then take me with you.’
‘I can’t.’ He traced her cheek with the back of his fingers, her smooth skin increasing the ache of desire building inside him. He couldn’t place her in danger, no matter how much he wanted her by his side. ‘There are very real threats to the wives of Army officers—the enemy, hunger, disease. If you were to die, think of what it would do to your grandfather, how he would blame me for your loss. I’d blame myself if anything happened to you.’
She laid her gloved hand over his and pressed her cheek into his palm. ‘Then don’t go. Stay here with me.’
‘I can’t turn my back on my commission now I’ve pledged myself to it.’ His honour wouldn’t allow it.
‘Then it’s over, isn’t it, us and our future?’ Her hope dimmed, as did his.
He glanced past her and out the arched doorway to where Lord Beckwith and Reginald leaned against a high table, trying to pretend they weren’t watching, and it came to him. He didn’t have to leave and he didn’t have to surrender his commission. ‘No
, it isn’t over.’
He took her by the hand and pulled her with him out of the room.
‘Lord Beckwith,’ Luke called out to the Lieutenant Colonel.
‘Yes, Major Preston.’ He and Reginald jerked up, looking at everything but Joanna and Luke in an effort to pretend they hadn’t been listening. Let them eavesdrop, it made no difference now.
‘You said if I wanted it, there was a position for me at Whitehall, a way to work here in England towards Army reform.’
Lord Beckwith’s mouth dropped open before he pulled it shut. ‘Yes, of course. You have only to ask for it.’
‘Then I want it. You’re right, I can make a difference to the soldiers in Europe.’
Lord Beckwith extended his hand to Luke. ‘I’m glad to hear it. I’ll tell Whitehall at once.’
‘And Captain Crowther, he must have a place, too,’ Luke insisted before facing his friend. ‘What do you say? Do you want to fight a different battle with me here?’
‘If it means seeing you accompany this beautiful woman down the aisle, then I do.’
Luke turned to Joanna. ‘We’ll visit the vicar at once and prepare the banns.’
‘Banns nothing, you’ll have a special licence,’ Reginald proposed. ‘What do you say, Lord Beckwith, do you think it can be arranged?’
‘Him being the son of an earl, and with my connections to the Archbishop’s office, I’m sure it can be done.’
‘I can’t pay for it,’ Luke protested. He was in debt enough for his commission and refused to become a husband on the verge of penury.
‘You won’t have to.’ Reginald snatched a shako from the line of them on the bench beside the front door. He turned it over and hustled to the gathered officers snorting and chortling at the spectacle. ‘Pass the hat, men, Major Preston is getting married and needs a licence.’
While they dug in their pockets for coins, Luke turned to Joanna. ‘What do you say? Are you ready to be my wife?’
With a bright laugh, she waved her hand over her dress. ‘Were I any more prepared we’d already be in a church.’
‘We soon will be and together for good.’
He took her by the waist and pulled her to him, the silk and her curves soft beneath his grip. He ignored the whistles and hoots from the men in the hall as he lost himself in her cobalt eyes.
‘Imagine what society will say when they hear about this?’ A grin drew up one side of her mouth, her question more amused speculation than worry.
‘They’ll say I caught the most beautiful woman in London.’
He pressed his lips to hers, the taste of her the sweetest victory he’d ever known.
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781488004346
The Cinderella Governess
Copyright © 2016 Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Georgie Lee for her contribution to The Governess Tales series.
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