by June Calvin
“Livvy, you did come. We could not believe it, but here she is, my love!”
Olivia glanced at Lord Bower. His skeptical expression put her on her mettle. “Yes, I am here. It is most amazing. What a romantic surprise my love has arranged!”
By this time Corbright was helping her from the carriage. Once on her feet she turned to embrace her friend. “You are to be my bridesmaid, I hope?”
“Yes!” Cynthia giggled nervously. “But Livvy, have you been crying?”
Olivia hugged her. “Tears of joy, dearest. You have no idea how I felt when I saw Corbright again this morning. My heart suddenly knew its mind at last.”
“Ah! That is all right, then.”
“Did I not tell you how it would be, Miss Ormhill?”
Olivia turned to find Lord Heslington at her elbow, an arch look on his face.
“Very prescient of you, my lord.” She wondered just how much of Corbright’s villainous scheme Edmund’s brother knew.
“How did my brother take it when you told him?”
“I have not told him, my lord. I doubt not you will enjoy having that pleasure.” She turned her back on him, only to encounter Corbright’s icy eyes.
“Lord Heslington is to be my groomsman, my love.”
Olivia turned back and met Heslington’s golden brown eyes, so like her beloved Edmund’s in color, so unlike in expression. “Perfect. You are the perfect choice for this wedding, Lord Heslington. I thank you.” She curtsied to him. He returned her a deep bow, but his expression altered to a frown.
A swirl of well-wishers engulfed them then. Olivia felt she stood in a minefield as questions were fired at her, such as the barbed compliment of one woman on her choice of wedding dress. “As I did not know I was to be wed, Mrs. Tillersby, you will excuse me for wearing a carriage dress. I thought only to go for a drive in the park.” Her voice quavered a little at this. The drive was to have been with Edmund, to select a wedding ring.
“Why are we all milling about out here?” Corbright looked sharply at Heslington. “Let us go in.”
“Not just yet. There is a wedding ahead of ours.”
Corbright muttered under his breath and glanced up and down the street. “Perhaps we should go to Saint Peter’s instead.”
“Nonsense, Lord Corbright. How should we get there?” Lord Henry Aversley asked. “We sent our carriages on, to return later, and you can hardly expect us to walk.”
“No, indeed,” Mrs. Tillersby exclaimed. “In fact, my feet are hurting already.”
Corbright had come to Olivia’s side and held her firmly against him with one arm. His eyes scanned the streets, and when Olivia felt his grasp tighten painfully, she followed his gaze with dread in her eyes.
“It looks as if we are to have your uncle and my brother join us,” Heslington said, also staring at the approaching curricle.
At the same time Cynthia said in a gasp, “Oh, Livvy, how embarrassing for you. Bower, will you not go and tell Edmund he is de trop?”
Lord Bower’s jaw tightened. He looked at Corbright and Heslington, then down at Olivia, who was shredding the bouquet she had been given into tiny pieces. “Is he?”
“If he ruins this, I shall call him out,” Corbright growled. “I think a word from Olivia will be sufficient, however.”
Olivia knew she must speak the words that would send Edmund away. She prayed as she approached Peter Barteau’s carriage that her beloved would believe her.
Edmund alighted before the curricle had stopped, and raced toward them.
“Come, Olivia. Get into the carriage. Peter will take you home while I deal with Corbright.”
“No. Edmund, listen to me. Look at me.” She forced herself to meet and hold his eyes. “It was as your brother said. When I saw Corbright again this morning, it all came back to me: our courtship, our quarrels, my desire to be revenged. We talked it all over, and I faced what I did not wish to face, that I was throwing away my chance to marry the man I have always loved.”
Edmund looked from her to Corbright, and then to his brother. “I don’t believe you.” He raised his voice so the others would hear. “She is being forced into this. He has threatened her with something truly terrifying, to make her do this.”
“Go away, Eddy. You are making a cake of yourself.” Heslington moved forward and put a hand on his brother’s arm.
Edmund shook it off, giving him a look of such loathing that the onlookers gasped. “That you would do what you could to injure me, I have long since accepted. But to be a party to such cruelty to an innocent woman—well, all I can say is that you will soon be known by the company you keep, and once that happens, few will care to keep you company.”
A chorus of sound came from the onlookers, from jeers to nervous laughs. Aversley spoke for many of them when he said, “Do go away, Edmund. You are putting a damper on things.”
“Do you really want to be a party to this travesty? I had thought you a decent man. And you, Lord Bower. You know Olivia. Do you really think her so fickle?”
“If he does, I do not.” Peter Barteau joined them, having secured his curricle. “Nephew, I suggest you give this up now. You stand to lose a great deal if you do not, and I refer not merely to your reputation.”
“What makes you so sure she doesn’t wish to marry him?” Aversley asked Peter.
“Well, for one thing, her family isn’t here. Deuced odd, don’t you think? You know how close that family is. You remarked on it to me at my nephew’s party, remember? So where is her aunt? Her brother? Her uncle, whom I certainly would have expected to be the one to marry her, seeing that he is a vicar.”
“Her brother is ill in Buckinghamshire. I brought a note from him this morning, did I not, love?” Corbright proclaimed. “He regretted that he and her uncle could not be here, but urged me to go on with the surprise. As for her aunt, she has never approved of me, which is one reason I planned this—to save Olivia the unpleasantness she would face day after day until we could be wed. Tell them, Olivia.”
“Th-that’s right. I got a message from Jason this morning. And Aunt Lavinia was quite livid when she saw Corbright.”
Edmund’s eyes narrowed. “So that’s it. You’ve threatened her brother, haven’t you? Or he’s challenged you. It is what she fears most.”
“This is beyond insulting. Take care you don’t push me too far, Edmund.”
“I will give you satisfaction on the instant. Bower, will you stand my second?”
“Not just now.” Corbright spoke hastily. “Have your seconds call on me after we return from the honeymoon. Now, I have some friends who will escort you away from here, as I am sure you do not wish to watch me marry Olivia. You remember the Swalen brothers, don’t you, Edmund?”
Suddenly two men materialized behind Edmund, clearly intending to grasp him and drag him away.
Terror raced through Olivia. They mustn’t get Edmund in their clutches. “You shan’t ruin our wedding day with a brawl, Edmund Debham,” she shouted in her sharpest tone. “Take yourself off instantly. And Franklin, love, do invite your friends to join us.” She smiled sweetly up at him, but her eyes were as hard as Corbright’s as they met.
“Provided Edmund leaves, I certainly shall.”
“Go away, Edmund,” came one voice.
“Yes, do. We are almost in church, after all,” came another.
Suddenly Edmund sprang forward and slammed Corbright against the side of the building, his hand grasping his throat. His other hand came up and thrust a small pistol into his adversary’s rib cage.
“Understand me, Franklin,” he said. “I will see you dead ’ere I let you rush Olivia into wedding you this day. Once I see her brother safe, and her family around her, if she still insists it is you she wants, I will disappear from your life—and hers—forever. But it won’t be today. Give it up, face me like a gentleman, or die like a dog, I don’t care which.”
“Don’t do this, Eddy. You’ll hang for it,” Heslington shouted.
&n
bsp; “That should suit you well, dear brother. I will hang, and gladly, before seeing Olivia made miserable.” He looked over at her. “Leave now, Livvy, while you can.”
Olivia’s heart was in her throat. The ferocious look on his face was the same he had worn when he told her how he fought out of anger at the sight of those he cared about falling around him in battle. He would kill Corbright, and then be hanged for it. She had to stop him.
“No, indeed. This isn’t necessary or right. I n-never expected you to be such a bad loser, Edmund. I blame myself somewhat, for not having the courage to face you and tell you myself. But you must accept the inevitable.” Olivia had made her way to Corbright’s side, and she slid her hand down to where it met the pistol Edmund held there. Corbright pulled in his stomach and suddenly her hand was between him and the gun. Edmund looked down, then up at her, his face ashen.
“For God’s sake, Livvy.”
“For all our sakes, Edmund, please go. Leave it. In fact, leave England. I wish never to see you again. I shall see that no one hires you here. I am sure Lord Marcoombe will not, once I tell him how badly you have behaved.”
“If you wed him at any other time, I will do as you ask. But not today.” Edmund maintained his grip on Corbright’s throat and shifted the gun so it pointed at his temple.
“Edmund! Please don’t cause the death of the man I love,” Olivia cried desperately. Tears began to roll down her cheeks.
The agony in her voice gave Edmund pause. He pulled away, and instantly Olivia inserted herself between him and Corbright. He dropped his hand, the gun hanging loose. “Livvy,” he whispered. “Oh, Livvy.” She must truly love him. How can I bear it?
Corbright’s henchmen grabbed him then, wresting the gun from him and starting to bundle him off.
“Swalen brothers,” Lord Bower said to his wife.
“Stop them,” Cynthia screamed.
“A moment, if you please.” Lord Aversley stepped between them and their obvious destination, a seedy hackney cab. Lord Bower joined him.
“Get out of the way,” Arthur Swalen snarled.
Cynthia Bower confronted Corbright. “Are the Swalen brothers not the men you purported to have run from the valley for insulting Olivia?”
Corbright’s forehead beaded with perspiration. “You misunderstood. Not Olivia. Her aunt, Lavinia. They said some insulting things about her. True things, actually, for she is a homely woman, but she is my beloved’s aunt, so I suggested they settle elsewhere.”
“Then why are they here, acting as your agents?”
“I . . . I . . .” Corbright looked furtively around.
“How dare you?” Peter Barteau cried out. “I ought to call you out, Nephew. You have insulted the woman I mean to marry.”
“You? Marry Lavinia?” Corbright’s face turned livid. “You can’t. I . . . she . . .”
“She would no longer control her land, then, would she, Corbright?” Edmund snarled, suddenly energized by his obvious discomfiture. “You could no longer force her to do as you wish, to protect her niece. That is your plan, isn’t it?”
Aversley held up his hand. “Enough. Release Lord Edmund. I do not believe there is to be a wedding today.”
The Swalen brothers looked to Corbright for instructions. He stood frozen.
“By the way, they are not gentlemen,” Edmund said. “They are deserters. Wanted by the military courts for murdering, raping, and pillaging. And those crimes were committed against our Portuguese allies. These are the ruffians Lord Corbright has invited to his wedding—for the express purpose of seeing that no one interfered with it.”
At this, Arthur Swalen screamed, “You lying bastard.” He tightened his choke hold on Edmund, who struggled furiously.
The murmurs of the crowd increased, and the comments were negative. “Smoky business,” one said. “I for one will not be a party to it,” another said.
Aversley glared at Heslington, who stood some feet from Corbright, frowning darkly. “Do you mean to see your brother taken away by such as these? Come, give me some assistance.” He and Bower began to try to pull the trio apart. With an oath, Heslington joined them. The Swalen brothers gave up the struggle and released Edmund.
All eyes now turned to Olivia and Corbright. There was no mistaking the hostility on the men’s faces, the concern for Olivia on the women’s.
Corbright took Olivia’s hands in his. “I am dreadfully sorry, my dear. I never meant for this to happen. Now you see the real Edmund Debham. A lying troublemaker, always has been, eh, Heslington?” Without waiting for a reply, he continued in a gentle, loving tone. “What say you, my love? Shall we go in and be married? I am sure we can find another witness to join with Heslington, and—”
“You will require more than one,” Heslington said, “for, I, too, have decided not to participate. In fact, Miss Ormhill, you have but to say the word, and I will escort you from here, so that you will not be importuned further, at least today, by either of your suitors.”
Olivia was startled by this turn of events, but her mind raced to see if anything had really changed, and she realized it hadn’t. If she did not marry Corbright, he would destroy those she loved. Jason doubtless was being held somewhere by another of Corbright’s men. Edmund would be assassinated. She looked at him, at his disheveled clothes and his furrowed brow, and felt such love that it made her dizzy.
“No, I thank you, Lord Heslington. What has happened here has only made me more determined to be wed today, before the forces that oppose us can gain strength. Lord Edmund has insinuated himself into my family’s good graces, and put on quite a show for all of you, but he will not deflect me from my true wishes, which are to wed Lord Corbright. See, the other wedding party is leaving the chapel. Shall we go in?”
This last sentence she spoke loudly enough to be heard by all who stood nearby. But many turned away. Lord Bower looked deeply troubled.
“Will you not give me away, my lord?” she pleaded with him. “And allow Cynthia to stand up with me?”
“Not today, Miss Ormhill.”
“Certainly not,” Cynthia agreed. “Olivia, do give this up. Corbright, I advise you, for the sake of your reputation, to postpone this wedding.”
“Come, dear Olivia, we don’t need any of them. The vicar will doubtless have witnesses enough about the chapel somewhere.” Corbright held out his arm, and when she took it, covered her hand with his.
“I would suggest that your henchmen disarm before entering the church,” Heslington said.
“That’s right. Bristling with arms like Turkish banditti,” Aversley said. He and Bower moved to block the two from entering, so they disgorged several pistols and knives, placing them in the waiting carriage.
Barteau, the Bowers, Aversley, and Heslington stood with Edmund as Corbright and Olivia climbed the steps, accompanied by a few of the invited guests. The Swalens brought up the rear.
“You surprised me just now, Carl,” Edmund said to his brother.
“I surprised myself. Are you content to let this happen?”
“Yes, what say you, Lord Edmund?” Aversley asked. “Except by force, I do not see how we can prevent this.”
“It is my fight, gentlemen.”
“No. No gentleman can stand by and see a woman forced to wed. But is she being forced?”
Edmund hesitated. “I . . . I am not sure.”
“I can answer that!” They all turned at the sound of a strident female voice, to see Lavinia Ormhill exiting the Ormhill carriage, which had pulled up while their attention was on the wedding party. She hurried up to the knot of men. “You must stop this wedding. See this? After you left, I found it under the desk where Olivia had been writing.”
She held out the bloodstained note. “It is Jason’s handwriting,” she said as the appalled group read it. “That is why she is here.”
Edmund grabbed the paper and raced up the steps, closely followed by the others. Down the aisle of the church he ran, to where the wedding party sto
od. He arrived at the dais just as a stout vicar, leaning heavily on a cane, intoned, “if any man do allege and declare any impediment why they may not be coupled together in matrimony by God’s law—”
“There could be no more unholy union than this, vicar.” Edmund thrust the paper into the startled cleric’s hands. “This note came to Miss Ormhill just before she agreed to wed Lord Corbright. She is doing it to free her brother.”
“It . . . it asks for a ransom. That doesn’t—”
“She is the ransom. She is being forced into this marriage.”
“Father, please ignore him,” Olivia begged the minister. “He is mad with grief and rage that I am marrying another man.” Olivia snatched the paper from Edmund’s hand and tore it. “Please proceed.”
“No, Livvy. Don’t do this.” Lavinia pushed between Corbright and Olivia. “I know you are protecting Jason, but you will be subjecting yourself to a lifetime of danger.”
“I am free to choose—”
“And it won’t end there. Will it, Corbright? It is not just her land you want. You won’t stop until you have Jason’s and mine, will you? Oh, Olivia, do you think any of us could ever be happy again or know a moment’s peace with you in the hands of this monster? We, Milton and I, have already been through that torture once.” Tears began to stream down Lavinia’s face. “Don’t do it to us again.”
“You interfering old vixen, get out of here.” Corbright grabbed her and shoved her aside. “Vicar, my fiancée wishes to continue in spite of her insane aunt’s imaginings.”
As Peter protested this treatment of his fiancée, Edmund picked up the discarded note. Piecing it together, he asked Corbright, “How do you explain that the two men named here as her brother’s captors are present, under your orders? I speak of the Swalen brothers.” He motioned to the glowering pair.
“Is this true?” When several people confirmed it, the vicar thumped his cane on the stone floor to silence the group. “I am sorry, but I cannot complete this marriage at this time. Miss Ormhill, I suggest you allow your friends to escort you from here.”
