by Regina Scott
And on either side, a dozen gazes were looking Eva’s way, some curious, some with an emotion she could only call envy.
Eva faced front again, cheeks heating. She did her best to attend for the rest of the service.
As the words of the benediction faded, she rose with the others to go. She turned toward the aisle, and her gaze collided with James’s. He inclined his head. She responded in kind. She watched as he walked down the aisle, pausing to greet that person, exchange words with another.
She had just stepped into the aisle when another woman crossed her path.
“Congratulations, miss, and many blessings,” she said, bobbing a curtsey.
“Thank you,” Eva said, bemused, but she hurried off and an older couple took her place. She recognized Mr. Ellison, the baker.
“We were all delighted to hear the news,” his wife said.
“If you celebrate in the village,” Mr. Ellison added, “we’d be delighted to help.”
Eva frowned as they moved past. “Do you have any idea what they’re talking about?” she asked Miss Archer.
“Not in the slightest,” her new friend assured her. “But stand your tallest. Here comes Mrs. Greer.”
She said the name as if a storm was approaching. The woman looked a bit formidable. Tall and slender, she held herself as high as a duchess Eva had once met.
“Miss Archer,” she said in a voice that trembled with emotion, “will you be so kind as to introduce me to your acquaintance?”
“Miss Faraday,” Abigail said obligingly, “allow me to present Mrs. Greer.”
The woman waited as if expecting more. When it wasn’t forthcoming, she huffed. “My husband is the Spa Corporation president and the leader of the Grace-by-the-Sea militia.”
“Under the magistrate,” Abigail seemed compelled to point out.
Mrs. Greer’s lips turned up, but she didn’t argue the matter.
“I’m sure he’s very needed,” Eva said.
“Unlike our spa hostess,” Abigail added. “We’re about to lose her.”
“And gain a noted physician,” Mrs. Greer said before turning to Eva again. “Forgive me for presuming, Miss Faraday, but I wanted to add my congratulations. Such an esteemed family. You must be overjoyed.”
The words were like fingers squeezing her shoulders. “I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage,” she said cautiously.
She smiled. “No need to be coy, dear. We are all friends here in Grace-by-the-Sea.”
“At least, most of us,” Abigail muttered.
Mrs. Greer ignored her. “It isn’t every day we have the opportunity to entertain the woman who will one day be the Countess of Howland.”
Abigail turned to stare at Eva. “You’re to marry Viscount Thorgood?”
“No,” Eva said, putting every ounce of will into the word. “I don’t know where you heard that rumor, Mrs. Greer, but I am merely here on the order of the earl. I will not be marrying into his family.”
Mrs. Greer’s face fell, then flamed. “Oh! I knew I shouldn’t heed anything that woman said. She believes in mermaids!” She flounced off down the aisle.
“From princess to pariah in a matter of moments,” Abigail marveled. “That’s a record even for her.”
Eva glanced around. Many of the people had exited the church, but those that remained all seemed to be watching her. Several averted their gazes on meeting hers.
“Do they all think I’m betrothed to Lord Howland’s heir?” she asked Abigail.
“Perhaps not all of them at the moment,” the painter allowed. “But give Maudie time. Where did she get the notion, I wonder?”
“I have no idea,” Eva said with a shake of her head. “I certainly didn’t give it to her.”
She felt a movement behind her and turned her head to find Patsy cringing.
Her heart fell. “You didn’t,” Eva said.
Patsy bit her lower lip a moment. “I might have. I was just talking while I helped her dress. You know how I am. But I’m sure I said the earl wanted you to marry his heir. Not that you were going to.”
Would that have been enough to establish the matter in Maudie’s mind? Eva glanced around again, but her former chaperone was nowhere to be found now.
Instead, James was striding back up the aisle to their sides. He nodded to Abigail. “Ladies. If I might borrow Miss Faraday for a moment.”
Abigail patted Eva’s shoulder. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. I’ll be sure to correct anyone who mentions the matter to me.” She excused herself.
Patsy shifted closer as if to protect Eva.
“Let me guess,” Eva told him. “You’ve heard the rumor that I’m to marry Viscount Thorgood.”
“No,” he said with a frown. “I’ve had at least a dozen people congratulate me on my upcoming marriage.”
Now Eva frowned as well. “Who are you supposed to be marrying?”
“You.”
She stared at him. “What is Maudie telling people?”
He seized on the name. “Mrs. Tully? Is she the one who started these rumors?”
“Mrs. Greer claimed she had told her,” Eva allowed, “but Mrs. Greer was certain I was marrying the viscount.”
He sighed. “All Mrs. Tully would have had to say is that you were marrying a Howland. With you staying in the castle, Mrs. Greer would assume you were marrying the earl’s heir. Her less fawning neighbors assumed I was the groom. I’ve done what I could to convince them otherwise.”
“That was good of you,” Eva said. “But I think we must find Maudie and determine why she left and why she’s telling tales.”
The church was empty now. Patsy behind her, Eva walked with James down the aisle and through the narthex. The churchyard with its ancient gravestones and wrought-iron fence was nearly empty as well, except for Maudie standing with her niece and a handsome darker-haired fellow along the walk to the gate.
“Magistrate, Miss Faraday,” Miss Chance said with a nod of respect as James, Eva, and Patsy approached. “If we might have a word?”
“Miss Chance,” he said. “Mrs. Tully, Mr. Denby. Miss Faraday and I were hoping to speak to you as well.”
“I can imagine,” she said. “I was surprised when my aunt returned home last night, but she tells me you two are now betrothed.”
“A misunderstanding, I’m sure,” James said before turning to the older woman. Maudie looked up at him, eyes bright as a bird’s. “Mrs. Tully, we were also surprised to find you gone this morning. May I ask why you left?”
“I was told,” she said.
Eva glanced at James, but he merely nodded thoughtfully. “So I understand. By whom?”
Eva held her breath, but her former chaperone answered readily enough. “The cloaked fellow in the great hall.”
Now James glanced at Eva. She shrugged.
“A castle ghost?” he asked politely.
She stared at him. “Of course not! The Lady of the Tower is a lady, sir, and I couldn’t see through this fellow.”
Eva couldn’t see through the argument either. “Perhaps it was Mr. Yeager,” she guessed. “Or Mr. Pym.” Neither would have claimed her engaged, but they were the only other men in residence besides James.
Maudie made a face. “Certainly not either of them. They had already retired when I went downstairs to fetch my shawl. I’d forgotten it in the music room. Besides, what do they know about love and marriage?”
“Indeed,” James said. “You’ve had opportunity to watch your niece in her role as matchmaker at the spa. Did you think, perhaps, to hurry things along between Miss Faraday and me?”
Eva blinked. Had Maudie seen something Eva had been afraid to name?
But Maudie shook her head, grey curls bouncing. “You two will sort things out soon enough. The fairies said as much. I wouldn’t have thought it this soon, but he insisted Eva was going to marry a Howland. The earl told him.”
The air turned frigid. “The earl?” Eva asked, leaning forward. “Thi
s man claimed to know the earl?”
“Oh, the earl knows most of the smugglers hereabouts,” Maudie said. “I was sure I already told you that.”
Mr. Denby had been hanging respectfully back. Now he stepped forward as if ready to take charge. “There was a smuggler in the castle last night?”
James watched Maudie just as avidly, but she waved a hand. “A smuggler, a French spy, one of the two. I couldn’t make out his features in that hooded cloak. But he said you would be marrying, and it would be best if I left, so I did.”
Her niece was staring at her. Slowly she turned her gaze to James and Eva. “I’m so sorry, Magistrate, Miss Faraday. I don’t know who she saw or what he might have said.”
“No reason to apologize,” James assured her, voice kind. “Mrs. Tully, do you know why the fellow was in the castle last night?”
She glanced at him from the corners of her eyes, face sly. “He was looking for the note. Well, he won’t find it. I took it.”
“Aunt!” her niece scolded. “If you have something of Mr. Howland’s, you must return it.”
She drew herself up. “Why? I found it. And he couldn’t read it in any event. It’s in the language of the fairies.”
“Nevertheless,” James said, “I would very much like to see it, if you would be so kind.”
She pouted. “I don’t have it with me. It’s far too precious.”
Her niece put her hand on her arm. “We’ll locate it at home and bring it to the magistrate as soon as possible.”
“After I’ve had a chance to look at it as well,” Mr. Denby said. “I was always good at languages.”
Maudie sighed.
James inclined his head. “I await your verdict, Mr. Denby. And thank you all.”
Her niece apologized again and led Maudie off, Mr. Denby at their sides.
Eva shook her head. “Who do you think she saw?”
“You assume she saw anyone,” James said.
“That was rather pointed advice for a fairy,” Eva argued.
“But not for a troll.”
She glanced his way, but she saw the gleam in those blue eyes. She shook her head with a smile. “Perhaps a troll might have ordered her to leave, but I doubt one was hanging about the great hall. Could it have been the fellow I saw the night before? Would he have been so bold as to return?”
“If he’d left something behind in the castle,” James mused. “I’m as concerned about the mention of the earl. Could his lordship have ordered someone to spy on us?”
Eva laughed. “And he ended up sending off our chaperone so you and I would be compromised? That certainly didn’t serve the earl well. Can you imagine the look on his face if he heard we were about to marry?”
James laughed as well. “Now, that would be a sight to see.”
An idea popped into her head, far too tantalizing to ignore. Could they do it? It was a tremendous risk. The earl would seek revenge. There was still a chance James was not the man she hoped.
But oh, how she hoped he was.
She grabbed his arm. “Let’s stun him, James. Let’s get married.”
Chapter Nine
James gaped at her. “What? You nearly took my head off at the very idea earlier.”
“That’s because I thought you were trying to trap me.” She put a hand on his arm and gave it a squeeze. “I am willing to concede that you have my best interests at heart.”
He’d certainly tried to take that perspective. “I’m still a Howland.”
“The very best of the breed,” she assured him. “Think, James. It is clear you long for independence. Admit it. If it wasn’t for your mother, you’d have cut ties to the earl ages ago.”
Was he that transparent? “His lordship is selfish and capricious, but he’s still family.”
She released him. “See how loyal you can be? I’d like to buy that loyalty.”
James drew himself up. “My loyalty, Miss Faraday, is not for sale. I regret if I gave you that impression. If you’ll excuse me, I must see about procuring you another chaperone.”
She darted around him to put herself in his path. “Forgive me. I wasn’t trying to impugn your honor. But a marriage between us makes perfect sense.”
“It makes no sense,” he argued. “You want your freedom as much as I do.”
“Exactly!” Even on the grey summer day, her eyes sparkled. “Think of it: your ideals, my ingenuity, and my father’s fortune. We would be able to do as we like, with no one to tell us how to behave, where to go. It would be the most convenient marriage of convenience ever!”
“Yet you lock us into a partnership with no hope of release,” he protested. “What of love, madam?”
“Love might grow,” she said, but she turned her gaze toward the gravestones in the yard. “Besides, I realized years ago that finding a man who could value me more than my father’s fortune was unlikely.”
There was more under her calm assessment. A sadness? A yearning?
James put his finger under her chin and tipped her gaze to meet his. “Not unlikely at all.”
As if she saw more than he intended, her eyes widened. Such a warm brown, like polished walnut. And her lashes were as thick as her hair. So easy to lean closer, touch his lips to hers.
What was he thinking? He’d known her a scant three days. And she’d just asked for a marriage of convenience.
“Then you’ll consider it?” she asked softly, as if she could see him weakening.
He dropped his hand. “I regret that I cannot.”
“Why?” She sounded so wistful. “It benefits you. You will have all the money you need to break loose of the earl’s control. You can free your mother as well. I imagine she would like her own home after serving the countess for so long.”
She would. Before his father had died eight years ago, his mother had made their home a place of happiness, joy. She’d tended a garden in front of the house, bringing in flowers to fill the vases she put in every room. She’d used her plants in the stillroom as well, crafting lotions and elixirs that healed. And she’d played the harp in the evenings to warm his and his father’s hearts. All of that had been denied her when the earl had demanded her presence in London. And James had seen firsthand that the countess could be as contrary as her husband.
Yet, could he do it? He’d once thought to marry for love as his father had. It had been the one time his father had refused the earl anything. But the earl had made it plain James was not to have that luxury. If he married, it would be to a lady the earl thought brought something to the family—land, connections. And it would be someone no one else in the family wanted.
The earl wanted Eva’s fortune. Denying him that would be sweet indeed. Yet was a marriage of convenience right for him and Eva?
“Walk with me,” he said, offering her his arm.
With a happy smile, she took hold.
“Go ahead and take your time off, Patsy,” she called over her shoulder at the maid. “I’ll just be walking with my betrothed. I’ll expect you back at the castle in time to help me change for dinner.”
“Yes, Miss Eva.” With a sidelong look at James, the maid hurried around them and out of the churchyard.
“If I consent to your proposal,” James said as he and Eva headed at a more leisurely pace for the wrought-iron gate, “we would have to reach an agreement on a number of factors first.”
She nodded, curls trembling inside her bonnet. “Of course.”
“The first thing,” he continued, pausing to open the gate for her, “would be to have a lawyer draw up the marriage settlements. Generally the gentleman brings the greater assets, with the lady allowed pin money and funds set aside for any issue from their union.”
“So I understand,” she said, and there was that note of sadness in her voice again.
He shut the gate behind them. “You know that the law gives the husband complete control of all a woman’s assets.”
She shivered. “I know. That’s one of the reasons I refused
to wed Lord Thorgood. I couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t bow to his father’s wishes.”
“And you think I will stand firm.”
She glanced his way as they started up Church Street, past the fine houses and flowered gardens his mother had so loved, to where her carriage was waiting. “Yes, James, I believe you would. But I guess I won’t know for certain until I’ve married you.”
He could not fathom the risk she was willing to take. Perhaps that was why he was so determined to mitigate it. “I propose a different sort of settlement. Give me pin money—an allowance, if you will. Make it sufficient only to pay for our sustenance and maintenance. Lock up the remaining funds for your use as dower and for the inheritance of any children.”
She peered up at him. “I stipulated a marriage of convenience, sir.”
“And you acknowledged that love might grow. I merely want to consider every contingency. Name a favorite charity to receive the remaining funds if we die without issue. The point is, Eva, this is your money. I am not entitled to it, no matter what the law may say.”
Still she regarded him, as if trying to find the hole in his arguments. “You’d do this, build an agreement that would prevent you from accessing the bulk of my inheritance?”
“Madam, it is the only way I will agree to marry you.”
She jerked to a stop, and he stopped with her. “James Howland, you are the very best of men. I knew I was right to choose you.”
Her praise was like a warm wool blanket on a cold winter’s night. “It isn’t accomplished yet,” he warned her. “Word is already circulating in Grace-by-the-Sea, but we cannot allow the earl to hear of it.”
She nodded. “He’d try to stop us.”
“He would make our lives miserable,” he corrected her. “I’m used to it, but I will not have him harm you or my mother. I must start for London to extract her from his clutches and purchase a special license from the Archbishop, so we can marry as soon as possible. I will have to stay through the morning muster tomorrow, but I’ll leave immediately afterward.”
She clasped her hands together, eyes shining. “An excellent plan. Take Mr. Connors and the carriage. That way you can bring back your mother and her things.”
