by Heather Boyd
“He shall not get away with hurting you a day longer. He must be made to suffer as you have suffered in silence.” Arianna leaned close and whispered, “If you ask me, your marriage to Lord Ellicott is just the thing to make him regret his entire existence. Having him forced to watch you find happiness with a better man, and an earl besides, ranks as the best choice for revenge, although that should only be our first step.”
Could she hurt him as he had hurt her? He deserved to be punished for the fool he had made of her, but she truly doubted the past troubled him. With or without her hand in marriage, he had somehow kept his promotion and his ship. He had done very well without her. “Grandfather does not want the marriage to be acknowledged until Ellicott returns in a few days.”
“Well…” Arianna glanced around swiftly. “Then someone will have to make sure the captain has heard of it before morning comes, don’t you think? That should do to begin with.”
“No. I will not use my marriage to Ellicott that way,” Sally insisted. “One has nothing to do with the other. It was a long time ago, and I am well over the disappointment. Promise me you will not stir up trouble.”
She was over the disappointment, but not the longing to change the past. The loss of her innocence, the damage done to her heart and trust, those could never be fully repaired.
“I promise, and I do understand. I do not like to be reminded of my husband, and we live in the same house a quarter of the year. Oh, if only he would stay away I could pretend I was a widow very happily.” Arianna laughed, then peered at Sally. “So you are over him entirely?”
“Of course I am. It has been six years since we have met. It was just a shock seeing him today after so much time has passed, but now the surprise has ended,” she said, but truthfully the shock had not left her. It had subsided enough to allow her to think and see how she must act. She needed to ignore Felix and deal honestly with Ellicott from now on.
“Well, I must say I am glad. I would not have you hurt again. Let us speak no more of what he did.” Arianna faced the drawing room, her gaze speculative. She lifted her fingers to her hair, and twirled an artfully fallen lock around her finger. “I will find another way to get under his skin.”
In the drawing room beyond the terrace, the gentlemen were returning from the dining room. Her father and Ellicott were jolly tonight, teasing the women as they burst through the doors, laughing as they found seats to claim for another long evening. Laughter was a rare thing in these troubled times, and she was pleased to see so many were lifted in spirits thanks to her happy news.
Ellicott went to his mother first, as usual, to see if her teacup needed refilling, and when that was done he peered around the room as if looking for someone. For her? As his intended, should she have rushed inside to greet him and let him refill her own teacup? Sally needed a moment longer alone. Something held her back from happiness. Something that had nothing to do with Ellicott’s nature but her own fickle emotions.
The earl was a good man, kind to his mother in a way many lords of his age often were not. A man she could learn to love the way she had once loved Felix given enough time. She shook her head quickly, annoyed to have that wretched man feature in her thoughts again. “Where is Duckworth, by the way? I have not seen him in months.”
Arianna shrugged. “Oh, he is probably tucked away with his latest mistress in that little hovel he keeps for them in London.”
“How do you bear it?”
“Easily.” Arianna faced her, her expression puzzled. “I am not in love with him, and he does not love me either. As long as he does not interfere too much with our children, I am content enough for him to do as he pleases. Lofton Downs is as much my home as his now.”
“Don’t you ever wish for his love?”
“I did once. Before our children were born, we spent more time together, but that ended when our second son came along. I learned he did not really need me, and accepting that as a fact made all the difference to our relationship. So few women find what they need in marriage these days that I am not alarmed by the lack of his attention. But enough of me.” Arianna frowned at her. “You do not love Ellicott, and do not bother to deny it because I have known you long enough to see the truth in your eyes, so you will understand the advantages.”
“I want to love him,” Sally whispered, meaning every word. “And I will one day.”
“He is a fine man as far as it goes. When you have been married for a while, you will appreciate the freedom a marriage built on mutual respect grants you. No possessiveness, no jealousy.” Arianna smiled brightly. “Without love in a marriage, all those foolish emotions remain at bay, and a woman can concentrate on what matters most. Enjoying her own life and her own interests without interruption.”
She shook her head sadly at the picture Arianna painted. “No happy moments together? None at all?”
Arianna put her arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “The best day I ever experienced as Duckworth’s wife was the day our first son came into the world. We might even have kissed to celebrate the happy event now I think on it.”
That did not seem enough to Sally. To live without the love of a man you were bound to for the rest of her life seemed a waste. She had to try harder to fall for Lord Ellicott. Starting tonight, she would make him the center of her world. “I should go in and join him.”
Sally relaxed her face into a contented smile for Ellicott in order to further her intentions. The past did not matter, only the future did, and hers was with a good man.
She took a pace forward just as Felix Hastings stepped into the room. She came to a halt in the shadows, breath catching at the sight of the handsome devil. He was late arriving, prowling beside her grandfather who was always somewhat slower when walking with his canes than everyone else. Felix towered over Rutherford, a picture of rude health and vitality, a stark contrast to the frailer man he walked beside. Sally could not stand men who toadied up to titled gentlemen that way; seeking favor by keeping older men company was damn shoddy in her opinion.
Sally bit her lip as further foul language filled her head. Years of living with family who went to sea had broadened her knowledge and vocabulary, but not always in a good direction. She had been working hard to suppress one curse after another since meeting Felix again tonight, and apparently the danger had not passed. Her inner monologue had grown as coarse as a fishwife’s diction at the end of a long day without a single customer.
Felix had once fallen into a fit of laughter when she had spoken her mind. He had claimed at the time to have enjoyed her insults immensely and had even committed some of her more elaborate curses to paper.
Felix scanned the room and immediately found her in the shadows of the doorway, sending her emotions tumbling again in another direction as his pale blue eyes studied her. When they had argued in the garden, she had been spared the full effect of his presence, but she felt it now, all the way to the soles of her feet. The corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile, and then he shook his head, moving his attention elsewhere in the room.
He stood back as the duke found a place to sit and then accepted a drink from a servant with a polite word of thanks before downing the glass and requesting another. He only drank when he was nervous, and a brief thought that a kind word might set him at ease teased her conscience.
Dicked in the nob, Sally girl!
She was not over the shock of seeing him if her first thought ran to helping him feel at home among her family.
Not by a long shot.
“Let’s do our best to ignore the captain tonight,” Arianna whispered in her ear. “Tomorrow is soon enough to make him regret that he lost you.”
Would he even be here tomorrow, and why did the idea that he would be gone affect her so badly? Blast him to hell and back with his own cannon. It was not fair. How could he still disturb her so much after so long apart?
Chapter Nine
Lord Ellicott boasted of his lands over breakfast and his plans for the future i
mprovements Sally’s dowry would afford him until Felix wished to run him through with his gleaming silverware.
Several times would not be enough.
“I have already begun plans to tear up the southeast gardens to build new stables twice the size of what I currently have,” Ellicott enthused between bites of poached salmon. “It will be magnificent.”
The earl clearly could not wait for the ceremony that would see him wedded to Sally’s fortune, and his remarks were the last of a long list of expensive improvements intended for his estate. The man openly laughed about his good luck in finding Sally eager for a union with him to anyone who cared to listen.
Those nearest lapped up his enthusiasm while they sipped from the finest porcelain cups and dined with the most elegant silver in their hands, making plans to visit them at the distant estate.
Felix turned his face away in disgust. That Sally could be happy to promise her hand in marriage to such an obvious fortune hunter was beyond his understanding and made no sense. And so much for the private agreement to marry that Lady Templeton had claimed it to be. Everyone at breakfast knew about it. And talked of nothing else but how well suited the pair was.
All the while, Felix’s stomach churned with loathing for the man who had a claim on Sally’s affections.
He pushed his chair back a little from the table and took in the view while he sipped what remained of his coffee. The duke’s wealth was apparent in every nook and cranny of every room. The doors to the pretty morning room were open, and he had a full view of what looked to be a ladies’ sanctuary. The feminine room was currently unoccupied, but scattered pillows made from blue and red Indian silk rested on the long chaise for the ladies’ comfort, and rugs made of the finest quality were scattered beneath.
He tore his gaze away when he imagined Sally in the space.
Sally herself sat as far away as it was possible to be at the breakfast table, looking lovelier in lemon muslin than his mind could accept was still possible. But her posture was rigid with barely concealed tension. He dropped his eyes, and his attention caught on a dark feline moving into the room. The dark-as-soot cat stopped and sniffed around the polished floorboards near the table, obviously looking for tidbits to scavenge for its breakfast. It hissed at those gathered with ill-concealed contempt and especially whenever a servant’s foot came its way. Had the duke mentioned Sally keeping cats yesterday?
Sally lifted her gaze along the table, and their eyes met again. His heartbeat quickened as he remembered her fiery outburst last night, but she soon looked away and gave her attention to Ellicott. Demure, polite, and so different from the woman he had fallen in love with that he had trouble reconciling that the two could be the same female. She hardly ever smiled.
At least last night she had been passionate, even if the emotion was anger. In fact, he had almost leaned down to kiss her. He had always enjoyed her private outbursts of temper and did not know where he had found the strength to hold back his attraction.
“Does something amuse you, Captain?”
He met the curious stare of Louisa Ford and tipped his head. “Yes. The cat.”
“That is Sally’s wild one, Horace. He cannot stand to be held and will scratch if you try to pet him.”
“I will make sure to avoid the surly fellow.” He set aside his empty cup.
“Oh, he is not surly, he just likes to do as he pleases.” She laughed and glanced down. “Do you like cats, Captain?”
“I do not dislike them.” He smiled, deciding that Louisa was very much like Sally. Certainly pretty, direct too, but she had a slight hesitance in her bearing that Sally had lacked when they first met.
Before he could say anything else, Louisa bent down to pick up a tiny mottled ball of fluff that had been previously hidden from view by the folds of her skirts. “This is Arturo.”
“Charming,” he murmured before reaching out to scratch the small head with his fingertips. The cat licked at his fingers, then bit him. “He is quite small and just a bit ferocious for his size, is he not?”
“He is Sally’s newest and is always hungry.” Louisa collected her plate, which he noticed held finely chopped scraps of her breakfast, and slipped from the room to the terrace outside. When she stopped at the balustrade, Felix decided to join her in the sun.
Louisa smiled as he walked over. “He had a terrible start in life. Sally rescued him from a dog in the village and brought him home in her pocket to live with her others. The hunting dogs do not bother any of them, I am happy to report. In fact, I think they are a bit afraid of being scratched.”
She fed the cat from her own hand and, when the animal had fed enough, placed him gently on the flagstone pavement. He scampered away into the low shrubbery.
“He is a lucky fellow then to have found a place to belong.” Felix glanced around once more. Unlike the stray cats Sally took in, Felix did not belong here. “Some of us never do.”
He had to end his obsession with Sally before he made a complete fool of himself. Louisa appeared startled by his remark, so he shrugged.
Revealing how much he had longed for Sally during the past six years would do him no good. Her love was gone, and it was high time he accepted it for a fact and got back to his real life as captain of the Selfridge. “Would you excuse me? I need to speak with your father.”
“Of course.” She smiled sadly but caught his arm to prevent him going immediately. “Perhaps later today or tomorrow if you are free, you might like to walk with me in the gardens. I would love to hear more of your life and of Laurence especially.”
The wistfulness of her tone blunted his immediate denial, and he phrased his response more carefully. “I am not sure if I will have an opportunity. It all depends on the admiral.”
“Forgive me. I miss my twin, but he does not write to me anymore. He only cares to share his adventures with his wife. Cecily reads me parts of his correspondence, but it is not the same as receiving his confidences directly.”
He understood something of the bonds between siblings even if he was not close to his own. He nodded. “If there is time, I will seek you out before I depart the estate and share all that I can.”
With that intention in mind, arranging his departure, he said good-bye and reentered the breakfast room. The admiral had already excused himself, so he ventured out into the hall in search of him, or a footman to ask for directions.
He found Admiral Templeton in the Newberry Park great library, but he was not alone. A stranger, likely a messenger, dressed all in black had his attention. Felix hung back a moment to give them privacy, and after a hushed, whispered conversation, Admiral Templeton turned away with a furious scowl. He stormed off toward the duke’s study, and Felix trailed behind. The door banged shut loudly, cutting off any chance of hearing the conversation. After a few moments, the door reopened, only it was the butler leaving instead of the admiral.
Felix peeked inside and discovered the duke standing alone at a window that overlooked the drive.
Behind Felix, the sound of harness and carriage moving off drifted into the hall.
“Good morning, Captain.” Rutherford gestured Felix into the room with an impatient wave of his hand. “I trust you slept well last night.”
“I did, and thank you.”
The duke cleared his throat. “My son has just now received an urgent message and been recalled to London. He will not be able to meet with you as he would have liked. He will not return for several days in fact.”
“I will go and pack and follow him to London. Perhaps there he will have time to see me.”
“No!” the duke exclaimed, thumping his canes on the floor to forestall his exit. “My son insisted you wait here for his return.”
Damnation!
The duke shuffled to his desk and sat with a groan before he continued, “Since the timing of his return is uncertain, his place will be taken by others.”
Felix moved to stand before the table. “I was given to believe the matter that broug
ht me here was urgent.”
“And it is,” the duke barked. “Absolutely vital.”
“Then what is this about?” Felix folded his arms across his chest, belligerence heating his blood at the unnecessary delay. “The admiral has told me nothing of my purpose in being here.”
The duke appeared amused rather than intimidated by his posture. “This is about your career, Captain. Your very future as commander of the Selfridge.”
“Why now of all times?” he asked, incredulous. “We have almost won the day. I have made you very rich, and surely you can have no complaints.”
“Watch your tone!” The duke straightened up, brows lifting. “Do you not think I am owed an accounting? Until I am satisfied with your conduct, you are ordered to remain at Newberry Park to answer an inquiry into your command.”
Felix jutted out his jaw, furious that his career could hang in the balance because of the duke’s whim. But then had it not always depended on someone else? He was also now suspicious that Admiral Templeton was not the driving force behind his presence at Newberry Park. Was he here only because the Duke of Rutherford wished to see him squirm and to torture him with Sally’s outstanding match? “Am I accused of misuse of your support and funds?”
“Of a sort.” The duke smiled in a way that did not comfort. “We will meet at precisely eleven o’clock to discuss the situation. Rodmell will come for you. I expect the process to take several days to complete. Perhaps even weeks.”
More than a week and he might be here to witness Sally marry. He could not be present for that. Surely Rutherford would not be so cruel.
The duke’s brow rose, challenging him to argue over the length of his stay.
Yes, Rutherford could be that cruel. Declining to accept the breach-of-promise payment when Sally had broken with him had not excused him in the duke’s eyes. It had only made Felix less of a fortune hunter in his own mind. A distinction the duke clearly did not share. He should have taken the money and been done with the lot of them. “As you wish,” he ground out.
