When the Perfect Comes (The Deverell Series Book 1)

by Susan Ward

  How any could accuse Windmere of the tragedy was beyond her. She would more trust Windmere than Rensdale, with Merry’s heart. She wondered if Rensdale knew of this unexpected offer and what his reaction would be. Rensdale was a pale shadow beside Windmere. It was hard to credit that they were related by blood.

  Next to Lucien, Windmere had been the finest man she had ever known. Whereas Rensdale... Rhea frowned. Was it only Rensdale’s great difference to Lucien that made her think less of him than Windmere?

  “Am I so wrong not to want Rensdale? To want more? To want more than be the wife of a dandified lord in London, who thinks only to be my master? Why can’t I have a grand tour of Europe as Philip did? Why can’t I journey to America as I long to? Why can’t I determine my own fate? Why, as a woman, is my only option marriage? I would rather stay with you here, than to live my life with a man I can’t love. Deporting myself as someone I am not, doing things that have no meaning, and being all the things I despise, so I do not offend his or society’s eye. Am I wrong to want more?”

  Rhea studied her daughter’s lovely passionate face, amused by her melodrama and saddened by her innocence.

  Such hope belonged to the young, but her daughter could not fight the ways of the world forever. There were no other options, in polite society, for a girl of Merry’s birth. All roads eventually would lead to marriage, whether her daughter accepted that or not. Her fate had been set at the moment of her birth with the sex that God had granted her.

  “No, Sweetheart, you are not wrong, but perhaps you have set your expectations too high. Marriage is your duty. You refuse to give any man, even a fair chance to see if they may be what it is you desire. You are too impatient. You want conformation, at first glance, that they will be all you wish them to be. Even the finest man is a blend of both good and bad, a man of strengths and weaknesses. None of us are without faults.”

  “I have Papa to blame for my high expectations. Next to him, I find all men sadly lacking.”

  Rhea laughed. “I imagine you would.”

  “Perhaps, if I could find one whom I could develop affection for, who can accept me as I am, then perhaps, I would become his wife. But, Rensdale is not that man, and he never will be.”

  ~~~

  Lightening illuminated the blackening skies beyond the tall casement windows. A brilliant flash highlighted the lone figure seated in the center of the rug. The candles had long been doused, the servants sent off for the night, but Rhea Merrick did not abandon her wait in her private salon. Her daughter’s words replayed themselves, over and over again, in her head.

  “Rhea?”

  Startled, Rhea cried out. For a moment, she imagined that the portrait had spoken her name in a husky whisper, instead of the man she had yet to see looming in the doorway.

  Rhea stared up into the handsome face of her husband. The years had hardly touched him at all, she thought. She remembered all those years ago, when she had first fallen in love with Lucien Merrick.

  He was still tall, still lean, a touch of gray mixing with his jet black waves, and though there were more lines on his face to mark the passing of time, she could image no man affecting her as deeply as Lucien was now, with the barest glimmer of a smile hovering at the corners of the his lips.

  It amazed her now that she had once been frightened of his commanding figure. She had completely missed the tell-tell mirth-light in those imposing blue eyes and had not been able to see the soul deep gentleness she had come to know, so well.

  “What are you doing here alone in the dark?” Lucien asked, crossing the flowered carpet, sinking down beside his petite wife.

  Rhea smiled tenderly. “I was thinking back to the first day you brought me here to Bramble Hill. Of this room, and what happened in it.”

  Lucien grinned wickedly. “You seduced me, as I recall it.”

  “You would remember it that way,” Rhea laughed, playfully poking her husband in the ribs. “I was not thinking so much about what we did, but how I felt. How much I loved you. We were so happy then, Lucien, in our honey month.”

  “Were? Are you no longer happy as my wife, Rhea?”

  “Foolish man. How can you ask such a thing? I was thinking of Merry. Do you think she’ll ever know with Rensdale, even a measure of the happiness we had when we were young?”

  Understanding came to Lucien with the ease that came from having loved Rhea for over two decades. “We are still young,” he countered in amusement, pulling her tiny form up against him. “There are times I find it hard to believe you old enough to share my bed.”

  “Rensdale will not make her happy, Lucien.”

  “You can’t know that for certain, Rhea.”

  “I know.” Rhea rested her head against Lucien’s shoulder. “If you had not loved me, would you have married Jane as the marriage contract ordered?”

  “How could you even ask such a thing, after all this time?” Lucien was clearly shocked by the question. “I loved you from the moment I first set eyes upon you, Rhea. I was determined to have no other. It would not have mattered how many contracts bound me to Jane, I could marry no other.”

  “Merry is every inch your daughter, Lucien.” Rhea pointed out sagely. “She will not bend. She will not marry Rensdale. Your will or not.”

  Lucien frowned. “You can’t compare Merry and Rensdale to us. I loved you, Rhea. There was no doubt of what was in my heart.”

  “I was twenty when we wed,” Rhea reminded her husband calmly, “and until we met, I did not think myself capable of finding love. But, I knew what I wanted. What my heart hungered for.” Rhea moved back a little, her huge brown eyes wide and glistening, as she stared up at him. “I wanted you, Lucien. Though I did not know your name, or if you even existed, at all. I wanted you. I would not have settled until I found you. You can be certain of that, my love.”

  Lucien was quiet. Too quiet, Rhea thought. After a long pause she felt him relax, his long fingers closing over hers, and she smiled to herself.

  “Letting Merry have her way will bring no good, Rhea. You know that I am determined to see Merry wed to Rensdale, this year. Yet, you disarm me without my even seeing the danger of your words. You are a devious woman, Rhea Merrick.”

  Rhea shook her head. “A happy woman and that is what I want for our daughter.”

  Lucien sighed. “You want me not to settle Merry’s future?”

  “Give her another year, Lucien. To find what we have found. If we give her time, she will settle on her fate. She can’t escape being a woman forever. She will not run from the right man. Even her stubborn heart will find a man she can’t dismiss by will, just as my heart could not dismiss you. Let her find what I have found with you.”

  With a graceful gesture, Lucien lifted his wife upon his lap. Pulling her back against him, his hands slowly parted the bodice of her gown as he breathed in her ear, “Impossible, Rhea. What we have found happens only once in a century.”

  “I am sure you are right,” Rhea whispered, her heart beating wildly. His hands slipped inside to cup her breasts, as his lips pressed fiery kisses along her suddenly bare shoulder. “Lucien,” she objected huskily, feeling her husband’s rising passion along with the heat spreading through her own limbs. “What if someone should come looking for us?”

  He turned her in his arms, silencing her with his lips. “They would not dare,” he breathed against her mouth as he gently lowered her to the floor. “As I recall, this is where it happened that first night.”

  “I love you, Lucien.”

  “Enough words, Rhea. Show me.”

  ~~~

  Merry carefully buttoned the battered white shirt, tucking it into the baggy breeches she had stolen from the servants wash.

  The clock on her bedside had just chimed midnight, and she knew it was pointless to wait any longer. Rensdale and Philip were not coming home, and there was no choice but to go after them.

  I will never marry Rensdale, Merry vowed to herself, drawing back the curtains. She peer
ed restlessly out into the darkness. If it took all night she would find Rensdale and put a stop to her father’s plotting.

  Twisting her ebony curls into a knot, she shoved the wooly cap atop her head. She tucked a small pouch of coins into her waistband, before carefully slipping a dagger into her boot.

  Merry opened the window and climbed up onto the sill.

  “Merry. Where the devil are you going?”

  Kate was standing in the doorway.

  “I thought you’d gone to bed.”

  “Oh, Merry, what foolishness are you chasing this time?” Kate closed the door, taking in her cousin and her curious manner of dress.

  “Really, Kate. There is no need for your drama. I am going for a ride that is all.”

  “Melodramatic, am I? I am not the one about to drop two stories. One usually leaves through the door, unless they are up to no good.”

  Merry shrugged, hoping she looked more composed than she felt. “You know how my father has forbidden me riding at night. He would stop me if he knew.”

  “The truth, Merry. What in Heaven’s name are you up to?” Kate demanded with uncharacteristic sharpness. “I am going to get Uncle Lucien.”

  “No,” Merry cried, springing from the windowsill and going to Kate’s side. “Don’t. Please, you can’t. I beg of you. Tell no one.”

  “What is happening, Merry? What is wrong?”

  “I am going after Rensdale. It is necessary that I speak with him tonight and since he has not returned, I must go after him.”

  “What could be so urgent that you can’t wait until morning...?” Kate lost all color. “The marriage contract has been drawn, hasn’t it?”

  “Yes, but my father has not signed it. He won’t, if I have any say in the matter. That is why I must find Rensdale. To get him to withdraw his offer. I won’t marry him, Kate.”

  “Oh, Merry, I don’t think there is anything you can say that will get him to withdraw his offer. He seems a most determined man where you are concerned.”

  “I must at least try, Kate. My father means to force me into the marriage. You would not believe the plot he has concocted to force me to consent.”

  “Force you? Merry, surely, you’ve misunderstood your father. He would not force you wed that horrible man.”

  Merry was shocked by the venom in her cousin’s voice.

  “You don’t like Rensdale either, do you? Why? I thought it just me.”

  “He frightens me. The way he looks at you, Merry, when he thinks no one is watching him. I don’t understand it. It makes me afraid for you. You can’t go after him, Merry. Something terrible will happen if you should find yourself alone with him.”

  Merry laughed aside her fear. “Do you think I can’t handle Rensdale? What harm could he possibly do to me, except bore me to death with that insipid drivel he spouts from morning till night?”

  “No. I won’t allow you to do this. The thought of you alone with him terrifies me. And if, by chance, you are seen? It would be disastrous for you to be caught meeting with the viscount alone. You would find yourself wed, no matter your objections.”

  “Be sensible. Philip is with him. What harm could he do me with Philip there?”

  “And Philip is known for exercising good judgment? Do you expect me to trust that they are still together, and that Philip will see you safely in this?”

  “I will not sit idly by and let my father seal my fate,” Merry replied with a toss of her head. “I have little to lose. Unless I find Rensdale, tomorrow I will find myself betrothed to that man.”

  “I think you are acting rashly, Merry, and no good will come of it. Uncle Lucien would not do what you accuse him of, and Rensdale would like nothing better than a scandal to serve his ends. Can you not see how little sense there is in you going after the viscount?”

  “Can you see how little sense there is in doing nothing?” Merry countered firmly, meeting her cousin’s worried gaze.

  With a ragged sigh, Kate had to admit that Merry was right.

  Reluctantly, Kate murmured, “If you are determined to go after Rensdale, then I am going with you, Merry, to see that you come to no harm.”

  “Kate, you can’t come. The only way out of the house is the tree outside my window. You couldn’t even manage it when we were children. How do you expect to now? You could never manage it.”

  Kate lifted her chin stubbornly. “I am going, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. Besides, you will never find Rensdale without my help. I know where they have gone.”

  “I won’t allow you to come.”

  “You are in no position to allow me anything, Merry,” Kate said calmly. “I will not tell you where they have gone, unless you take me with you. I don’t trust Rensdale, and I won’t have you risk meeting him alone.”

  “Really, Kate. Can’t you see how absurd it is for you to think you can protect me? What do you plan to wear? You can’t ride into Falmouth clad only in your dressing gown.”

  “I am going with you, Merry, and that is that,” Kate said, going to the closet and pulling out her cousin’s blue riding habit. “If you dare to step a foot from this house without me, I will go to Uncle Lucien. I promise you, I will tell him the whole of it.”

  With a frustrated sigh, Merry sank down on the bed, waiting for her cousin to change.

  “You have a stubborn nature, Kate Merrick,” Merry pointed out unkindly.

  “It is the one trait we share,” Kate countered, stepping from the dressing room and hastily finishing the fastenings on her garments.

  Kate followed her young cousin to the window.

  “You must not look down," Merry warned. “You will fall if you look down. Move out onto the sill and grab the branch. It is not as far as it looks, Kate. Truly.”

  With the grace of a cat, Merry pushed off, catching the branch of the large oak beyond. Merry quickly made her descent, half climbing, half slipping, until she dropped the final few feet to the ground. Her hands burned from rubbing against the bark, and she shook them wildly, trying to sooth her throbbing flesh.

  “It’s not so difficult.”

  Kate’s arms and legs refused to cooperate as she tried to push off as her cousin had done. Good Lord, what had she gotten herself in to?

  It was a fool’s errand Merry was forcing her to join. Even if they found Rensdale, no good would come of it. Rensdale would, most likely, tell Lucien Merrick the entire affair to suit his own ends. There’d be the devil to pay for this night’s work if they were caught. Furthermore, what would Uncle Lucien think, if he learned her part in this reckless escapade?

  She was supposed to help keep Merry’s conduct in line, provide a good example, and try to harness some of that impulsive spirit.

  Merry running amuck and me running amuck with her, Kate thought fretfully.

  Holding her breath, Kate lunged for the tree.

  Merry watched in amusement, as her cousin followed the same path down the tree and could not contain a laugh as Kate plopped to the earth, landing unceremoniously on her backside.

  “Are you all right?” Merry asked. “I told you not to look down.”

  “I could have done very nicely without that last five feet.”

  “I did not think you would do it, at all.”

  “I couldn’t let you go off alone. That’s what you’d have done if I hadn’t followed.”

  “You said you knew where Rensdale and Philip had taken off to,” Merry reminded her impatiently.

  “Some ridiculous tavern called Grave’s End,” Kate replied absently, rubbing her tender backside.

  Merry’s eyes rounded. “Grave’s End. Are you sure, Kate?”

  “For some vile concoction called ‘Blue Ruin’.” Kate nodded, her pale brows puckered on her forehead. “What the devil do you imagine that to be? And, why are you looking at me like that. I am sure they said Grave’s End.” Kate stared hard at Merry, dread filling her stomach. “Have you heard of a tavern called, Grave’s End?”

  “Of course, I
have. Merciful Heavens, Kate, how could you have lived your entire life in Cornwall and know nothing of Grave’s End. It’s the devil’s lair. A smuggler’s den.”

  “Smugglers and Lord Rensdale to contend with. Wonderful, Cousin. Oh, Merry, what have you gotten us into?” Kate moaned.

  ~~~

  Dark, gray tendrils of fog enveloped the coast, making it impossible to see the edge of the jagged cliff. Merry urged her horse to a faster pace, riding by memory the treacherous path that ran between Bramble Hill and Falmouth.

  A glance over her shoulder assured her that Kate was still following behind. For all her cousin’s frailty, Merry had to admit that she was an exceptional rider.

  It was well into the night before they caught sight of the steeply slanted roof of Grave’s End.

  A hundred years ago the gray stone building, with its small mullioned windows, had been a favorite stop for weary travelers journeying to Land’s End. But, years of neglect and the constant assault of the sea air did not lend an impression of welcome.

  “Grave’s End?” Kate murmured fearfully, staring at the square board sign boldly decorated with the scull & crossbones. “Oh, Merry, you will not go into that place.”

  Merry stared at the structure in dismay. “I must admit I didn’t expect it to be so bad. Now do you understand why I didn’t want to bring you along?”

  “Oh, and it would have been better for me to let you come here alone.”

  Merry slid from the saddle, carefully tucking her hair up into the smelly wool cap she’d lifted from the stables.

  “Merry, no. This will not do. This is even more foolishness than you can manage. We can wait here for Rensdale, if you must. I will not allow you go in after him.”

  “Not go in? There is no cause to panic, Kate.” Merry leaned forward to retrieve the dagger from her boot. “But, I think it best, Kate, that you stay with the horses. No one will know I am a woman dressed this way. But you, Kate? You could not help but to cause trouble inside. If someone so much as takes a step toward you, ride off, Kate. Don’t worry about me. Ride to Saint’s Cove and I will meet you there.”