Take it, foolish girl, take it and run! "I thank you most kindly, Vicar Barton." She gave a curtsy, for something seemed called for. "You are absolutely deserving to be truly loved. I'm sure you shall be, very soon."
She was suddenly seized by restless energy. Freed from her polite cage her hands fluttered up almost of their own will. She went up on tiptoe and settled back down. She moved one step to the side, turned to the window, turned back to John and shook her head. "I don't know what to do with myself."
John gazed at her ruefully. Frown creased his brow as he watched her strange restless dance. "You are an impatient thing. Are you going to see him now?"
"Yes." Oh, yes-yes-yes!
He tilted his head. "And suddenly you are even more attractive than you were ten minutes ago. Love suits you."
Bernadette blushed and turned to leave. Just as she had her hand on the latch of the door, she turned half around again.
"I don't think I was your Marianna, after all."
John nodded sadly, not questioning what she intended by that. "Perhaps not. But I think you could have been. I really do."
Matthias dismounted Perseus at his own front steps and left the great snorting beast to the groom. It was rare that Matthias allowed his mount to gallop uncontrolled for so long. Perseus had mightily enjoyed the race back to Havensbeck.
Matthias had simply wanted to get as far away from the future vicar and Mrs. Barton as he could. Oh damn, she would be the wife of the vicar of his own village. Oh, no.
He should depart for London immediately. Yes, at once. Of course, he hated London, too. But at least there he would not be seeing those eyes laughing at someone else, that smile directed at another man, and if his hearth and bed were condemned to be cold and empty forever, at least he could be as far from the source of his pain as possible.
The first time he had felt his heart warm from its long winter, and he'd been too scared, too slow, too lost in the woods to see clearly in time.
He had loved once. Somehow, he had managed to find his way to love again. He most sincerely doubted his heart would ever recover enough for a third assault.
Jasper met him at the door and took his hat and coat eagerly. "How was your ride, my lord? You are back rather quickly. Will you be returning to Haven again today? Is it something you'll be doing often?
"Jasper, blast it, leave off! She's marrying the vicar!" There. That should put a stop to Jasper's matchmaking. "I'm going to my study." He wouldn't scandalize Jasper by asking for brandy at this early hour. Besides, he was fairly certain he had a bottle left in his desk.
He didn't desire to drink, in the end. He stood in his study and gazed out at the soft gray winter's day, the fresh snow as tender as a dove's wing. Last night's weather was a kindly sort of snowfall, merely enough to beautify the trampled, dirtied white, as if to say, "Happy Christmas to all."
I do believe this puts paid to me ever enjoying Christmas again. Yes, I am quite sure of it.
Jasper brought coffee, steaming bitter and aromatic in the silver server. Wise Jasper.
Once he'd served, Jasper stayed, poising himself in the center of the carpet with his hands behind his back, like a penitent tradesman or guilty tenant. Matthias frowned at him. "What is it, Jasper?"
"My lord, it was all my fault."
Matthias closed his eyes, too weary even for exasperation. "What is all your fault, Jasper?"
The butler lifted his chin, as if preparing for a blow. "It was I who went to Vicar Barton and asked him to invite Vicar Goodrich's family for Christmas."
That fixed Matthias's attention. He scowled at Jasper. "You did what?"
"My lord, it was the letter. Do you remember the letter, from the girl who laughed so hard she sat on the sundial?"
Matthias bristled. "That letter could not have possibly come from Bernadette Goodrich! The woman who wrote it was barely literate!"
"I do believe, upon further reflection, my lord, that the letter was from young master Simon. I suspect he was doing a bit of matchmaking for his sister."
Matthias shook his head. "Perhaps he was, but at what point did you decide that the semi-literate letter writer ought to come here to be my bride?"
Jasper swallowed at Matthias's tone, but forged on bravely. "It was the laughter, my lord. It has been so many years since this house has known laughter. We, the staff and I, well, we want it back."
Matthias passed both hands over his face, trying to scrub away the sticky spider web of Jasper's intricate logic. "So, in order to find me an illiterate bride, you go to the village vicar and ask him to please invite his long-lost love to Haven so she can dance with me at a ball?"
Jasper squirmed. "Well, not intentionally, my lord."
Matthias couldn't help it. It was the strangest thing. He was desperately unhappy. His heart was broken anew. Yet from somewhere deep inside him, helpless laughter began to fizz. He leaned his rear on the edge of his desk for a moment with his hands over his face and simply shook.
"My lord?"
"Oh Sweet Christmas Bells on a Stick!" Matthias dropped his hands to grip the sides of the desk and begin to laugh. The sounds he uttered were rusty and long unused, like hinges on the door too long shut. He laughed. He roared.
Jasper, wisely, waited it out without further comment.
Finally, Matthias drew a long, shuddering breath and wiped his eyes. Those were tears of laughter. He would admit to no other sort at this moment. "Jasper? Would you kindly fetch fresh paper and ink? And an empty bottle, please. I have one last letter to write."
When Bernie came in sight of the carriage bridge across the river, she saw a lone figure standing at the wall, gazing down at the water. Her heart fluttered within her ribs like a captive bird sensing freedom. Her steps quickened.
When she came abreast of Lord Matthias, she saw an empty wine bottle standing on the wall beside its cork. In his hands he held a single sheet of paper.
"Am I disturbing you? It seems a private moment."
He must not have heard her steps over the rushing of the river for he turned quickly, startled. His elbow struck the bottle, knocking it from its perch on the wall.
Both Bernadette and Matthias leaned over the wall to watch it fall. When it disappeared into the churning water running between the jagged ice banks, she turned to him with a frown. "Shall I fetch you another? I shouldn't mind it all. It was my fault."
"Now. No, that's quite alright." He straightened to face her.
She remembered something and held up one hand to halt him as she dug in her pocket. When she drew out a large stack of parchment, folded carefully and tied with a green hair ribbon and presented it to him, he stared at it without comprehension.
She pushed the gift closer. "These are yours. I am returning them to you."
"Oh." He blinked at that. "Yes." He took them from her gingerly, taking care their hands did not touch. "Well, I suppose it would be rather inappropriate for my village vicar's wife to have them."
She noticed with a bittersweet amusement that he could barely meet her eyes. It may take me a lifetime to make that up to him.
That sounded just fine to her.
"Matthias," her tone was gentle. "I had thought to tease you with this, but I fear I'm no good at keeping secrets anymore. John Barton has released me from our agreement."
Matthias's eyes widened slightly and he swayed toward her as if pulled by gravity itself. "What does that mean, released you? How? He has ended your engagement?" Conflicting emotions ran across his face. Bernadette wondered how anyone could ever think him distant or unreadable.
He looked as though he couldn't decide whether he ought to find John Barton and hug him or challenge him to a duel for Bernadette's honor. She found she quite liked that quality in a man.
Her joy begin to effervescence within her. She cast him the brightest smile she had and watched him blink against the glow. "Matthias, I am quite eligible now. And I believe there was something you were going to say to me?"
"I d
o. I have something I very much want to say to you. But there's something I have to do first." He held out the single folded sheet in his hand. "One last letter."
She looked at the paper for a long moment. "I see. Well then, I should leave you to it."
He held out a hand, though he stopped short of quite touching her arm. "I'd like you to stay, if you would. It is a goodbye letter."
Bernadette felt her heart lighten further. "I should be honored to remain, if that is what you wish."
She could not take her eyes off the missive in his hand. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, lending a sweet and boyish quality to his usually stern features. "Would you like to read it?"
Bernadette put her hands behind her back and clasped them virtuously together. "No, indeed. This has nothing to do with me. It's a private matter."
He tilted his head and his smile grew, but just on one side, as if he was slightly out of practice. Her heart melted.
"You really want to read it, don't you?"
She chewed her lip for a moment. "Well, yes. Yes, I would very much like to read it, thank you."
He handed the letter to her and she carefully unfolded it.
My dearest Marianna and my darling Simon,
Wherever you are, you need not wait for me any longer. I have decided to stay right where I am. I will smile, and laugh, and makes snow doggies, and hang green things in the manor at Christmastime. I will do all of these things for you who cannot, and for myself because it seems I quite like them.
I am awake now. Let your sleep be easy. I am going to be fine.
M
Bernadette felt her breath come shakily as she tenderly refolded the note and placed it back in Matthias's hand. He closed his fingers over it and tucked it into the stack of earlier letters. He looked at them for a long moment. Then he tugged the ribbon free and let all the letters fall.
They fluttered like doves, swirling down through the air until they were caught and carried away by the rushing water. The river took them, and this time the river would not give them up so easily.
Bernadette stepped closer to him and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. "Did you know that I would be coming back to you today?"
"No. I thought you quite gone from me. I believed myself alone in the world."
"It makes me very happy to know that you were ready to live on, whether or not you knew you were to live on with me." She pulled the glove from her hand and lifted her fingers to touch his dear face. "If I were her, I would be very content right now."
"I think that I am very glad that you are nothing like Marianna. You are everything that is Bernadette, instead. Tremendous, sometimes a bit frightening, possibly devastating. That is perfectly wonderful, as far as I'm concerned. That is my Bernadette."
She smiled at him again. He reached for her bare hand and wrapped it in both his large ones. He pressed her palm his chest. "I am setting the past free. The pain of the past and the love of the past. I wish to make room in my home, in my world, and in my heart."
Bernadette tilted her head and gave him a joyous chortle. "I think that's an excellent notion! Because you do realize that I come with a little brother? And I daresay I'd like to keep my aunt and uncle quite close to hand."
He smiled and stepped a little closer. "It is a very large manor. I believe there is room for all the Goodriches and perhaps a few more Waterfords as well."
She matched his approach, coming closer step for step. Gazing up into his beautiful deep blue eyes, she sighed. "Is that a proposal, my lord?"
"No, Miss Bernadette Goodrich, it is a vow. I have released my last letter. I have released the past. You, my love, I am keeping. You are my Christmas gift and it is very bad form to return a gift!"
He lowered his mouth to hers in a sweet, chaste kiss. Devastating, am I? Bernadette dared to part her lips. In answer to her boldness, he slid one big hand into her hair and cupped her skull in his palm as the kiss deepened.
She forgot the snow and the cold in the heat of his mouth. The lost soul was found again and his restored strength bolstered her even as it seduced her. By the time they parted, they were both breathless and smiling loopy grins at each other.
"Let us go home," he said. He took her hand and they crossed the river, left the bridge behind, and walked together up to the holly-infested manor house. "Shall we set the wedding date for the feast of St. Valentine?"
After that kiss? Not likely! Bernie raised a brow. "I think perhaps I'd prefer the eve of the New Year!"
At his rusty bark of laughter, Bernadette leaned her head on his arm and sighed with the depth of her contentment. "Happy Christmas, Matthias."
"Happy Christmas, my mad Miss Goodrich."
Other Books
by Celeste Bradley
Fallen
The Liar's Club
The Pretender
The Impostor
The Spy
The Charmer
The Rogue
Wedding Knight (a Liar's Club novella)
A Liar Under The Mistletoe (a Liar's Club holiday novella)
The Royal Four
To Wed A Scandalous Spy
Surrender To A Wicked Spy
One Night With A Spy
Seducing The Spy
The Heiress Brides
Desperately Seeking A Duke
The Duke Next Door
Duke Most Wanted
The Runaway Brides
Devil In My Bed
Rogue In My Arms
Scoundrel In My Dreams
The Wicked Worthingtons
When She Said I Do
And Then Comes Marriage
With This Ring
I Thee Wed
Wedded Bliss
The Courtesans
(with Susan Donovan)
Unbound
Breathless
For more information about Celeste’s books, visit: celestebradley.com/books/
For updates on upcoming books and events by Celeste Bradley,
you can join The Voice of Society newsletter and be the first in the know!
Reviews
Praise for New York Times bestselling author
CELESTE BRADLEY
And Then Comes Marriage (Wicked Worthingtons Book 2)
“I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series. They will definitely be on my auto-buy list.”
—Night Owl Romance, 5 stars
Devil in My Bed (Runaway Brides Book 1)
“From its unconventional prologue to its superb conclusion, every page of the first in Bradley’s Runaway Brides series is perfection and joy. Tinged with humor that never overshadows the poignancy and peopled with remarkable characters (especially the precocious Melody) who will steal your heart, this one’s a keeper.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Part romantic comedy, part romantic suspense, and wholly entertaining, Devil in My Bed is a delight!”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Laughter, tears, drama, suspense, and a heartily deserved happily-ever-after.”
—All About Romance
Rogue in My Arms (Runaway Brides Book 2)
“Bradley doesn’t disappoint with the second in her Runaway Brides trilogy, which is certain to have readers laughing and crying. Her characters leap off the page, especially little Melody, the precocious ‘heroine,’ and her three fathers. There’s passion, adventure, nonstop action, and secrets that make the pages fly by.”
—RT Book Reviews
“When it comes to crafting fairy tale– like, wonderfully escapist historicals, Bradley is unrivaled, and the second addition to her Runaway Brides trilogy cleverly blends madcap adventure and sexy romance.”
—Booklist
Desperately Seeking a Duke (Heiress Brides Book 1)
“A humorous romp of marriage mayhem that’s a love-and-laughter treat, tinged with heated sensuality and tenderness. [A] winning combination.”
—RT Book Reviews
“A tale
of lies and treachery where true love overcomes all.”
—Romance Junkie
The Duke Next Door (Heiress Brides Book 2)
“This spectacular, fast-paced, sexy romance will have you in laughter and tears. With delightful characters seeking love and a title, [this] heartfelt romance will make readers sigh with pleasure.”
— RT Book Reviews
“Not only fun and sexy but relentlessly pulls at the heartstrings. Ms. Bradley has set the bar quite high with this one!”
—Romance Readers Connection
Duke Most Wanted (Heiress Brides Book 3)
“Passionate and utterly memorable. Witty dialogue and fantastic imagery round out a novel that is a must-have for any Celeste Bradley fan.”
—Romance Junkies
“A marvelous, delightful, emotional conclusion to Bradley’s trilogy. Readers have been eagerly waiting to see what happens next, and they’ve also been anticipating a nonstop, beautifully crafted story, which Bradley delivers in spades.”
—RT Book Reviews
About the Author
Photo © Charles M. Fitch 2014
Celeste Bradley is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 24 Regency historical romances, including the extremely popular Liar's Club spy series and the Wicked Worthingtons. She has twice been nominated for the RITA Award by the Romance Writers of America. Before becoming a writer in 1999, Celeste was an artist who specialized in pottery and ceramic sculpture. Although originally from the South, Celeste no resides in New Mexico. “It is one of the last habitats of the Free Range Human.” She is fond of food that someone else cooks, animals of all sorts, painting, drawing, reading, and grand babies.
For more information about Celeste’s books, visit: celestebradley.com/books/
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