The Outrageous Belle Marchmain

by Lucy Ashford

  Adam gave Jarvis a look of narrow-eyed contempt, then coolly began to unfold the document. People gathered round to look.

  ‘Edward Hathersleigh,’ Adam went on, ‘has agreed to sell the land to me. Care to face prosecution for your part in this fraud, Jarvis?’

  Jarvis was shaking off the arms of those who held him, but he looked white and afraid. ‘Your little widow’s put you up to this,’ he said loudly. ‘She sold herself to you, Davenant. She’s a whore and you’ve made all this up because you can’t stand the way polite society has always looked down on you and your low-class family—’

  ‘If you’re an example of polite society, Jarvis,’ interrupted Adam, ‘you can keep it.’

  And with one bunched fist he knocked Jarvis flying across the floor.

  People applauded. People gathered round and cheered. Adam took Belle’s hand and drew her very close. He gave an elegant bow to the delighted crowd. ‘Ladies, gentlemen,’ he announced, ‘your sentiments are much appreciated, both by me and by my fiancée—the extremely beautiful Belle Marchmain, whom I hope to make my wife in the very near future!’

  He kissed her full on the lips and the room was filled with happy sighs and murmurs of approval. He kissed her so thoroughly that her mind was in a daze, her insides melting at the honeyed warmth of his lips, the heat of his strong body.

  Time enough. Time enough for her to shatter this beautiful dream and face reality. It would be over as soon as he realised the full extent of her unwitting deception.

  The next few moments were filled with the kind of happiness she knew could never last. Amidst a storm of congratulations from well-wishers, Adam held her tight round her waist with one hand while with the other he seized a bottle of champagne and a glass from a nearby waiter. Then, his dark eyes still dancing, he led her outside and down the steps to where his coach was waiting, with Joseph up on the driver’s seat.

  ‘To us,’ he said softly once he’d swept her inside the carriage. He pulled out the cork and poured the foaming liquid into the glass.

  ‘Not for me,’ she said quickly as he offered it to her. She forced a smile. ‘Not just yet. Adam, tell me. Tell me how you came to learn about the land.’

  He drank some champagne himself and told her, in a voice of taut triumph, how he’d seen an old map at Edward’s house.

  ‘You went there?’ she broke in.

  ‘I did,’ he said softly. ‘Looking for you, Belle. And I learned a good deal.’

  ‘Edward’s poor wife...’ Something in his gaze was making her feel shaky.

  ‘Yes. I met Edward’s wife, and that wasn’t all.’

  Adam’s eyes were steadily on hers as the coach rattled along. ‘Your brother told me about your marriage, Belle.’

  ‘He shouldn’t have. He had no right!’ She was distressed now.

  ‘I’m most glad he did,’ Adam said gravely. ‘We’ll talk about your husband later. To finish my answer to your question—I tackled Cherritt about you in Bath, and I realised he was in Jarvis’s pay. So I—persuaded him to show me Jarvis’s deeds...’

  * * *

  And that was how he knew, marvelled Belle. As

  Adam’s fine carriage swung down the street she listened to him with wonder and relief and genuine joy, because Edward had been able to help him. Edward had given him the land gladly, Adam told her, in return for the cancellation of his gambling debts, and now the Somerset railway line was forging ahead—indeed, would reach the canal within days.

  She loved hearing him talk about it all; loved seeing his animated face, noting every detail of those dearly familiar features which she’d once thought so hard, so cynical. He’d not changed at all, but she had. She’d finally seen him for the man he truly was—honest and brave and in every way noble.

  She’d refused champagne, but she grew heady drinking in everything about him as he talked to her in the coach: the thickness of his dark hair, which he’d rumpled with one careless hand; the beginnings of the stubble darkening his chiselled jawbone; the beauty of his strongly made body, accentuated rather than hidden by his formal attire.

  Too late, she thought wildly, pain clawing at her insides. She’d misjudged him and insulted him from the fateful day she’d met him, on Sawle Down.

  They’d arrived in Bruton Street. He got out first and was helping her down. Desire and despair burned her up in equal measure.

  ‘Will you allow me to come in with you?’ he asked, his eyes searching hers.

  Her heart shook. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, and tell him everything. ‘I noticed earlier that the rooms are still full of sphinxes and sarcophagi.’ She smiled. ‘You enter at your own peril!’

  He grinned—a gorgeous, wide, white smile—and went with her laughing up the steps. Lennox let them in, but very swiftly made himself scarce.

  Belle took off her shawl and fiddled with her gloves. She felt sick again. He’d told everyone at Lord Jarvis’s that he was going to make her his wife. Even if he meant it, he’d soon change his mind when he learned everything.

  She had her back to him as she laid her mantle across one of the hideous sphinxes.

  He came up behind her, his hands resting warmly on her shoulders, and said, huskily in her ear, ‘Belle. May I stay with you tonight?’

  She stood very still in her gorgeous ballgown, her heart thumping painfully against her ribs. ‘Adam,’ she said quietly. ‘What you said earlier, about marrying me. I know you never wanted marriage, at any cost, and believe me, I quite understand...’

  He lifted her hand and kissed it, his eyes burning into her. ‘Don’t you want to marry me, Belle?’

  Oh, dear God. His lips sent blood pounding to her heart. More than anything. Oh, Adam, my love. ‘It’s not a question of that,’ she said desperately. ‘It’s that I know you never wanted to be tied down, ever.’

  ‘That was because I’d never met anyone like you.’ He was still holding her hand, still fingering her sensitive palm.

  ‘But...’ she was floundering now ‘...you didn’t want commitment. Children. You told me so.’

  ‘Children?’ He looked at her, his eyebrows slightly gathered. ‘Belle. My dear, practical Belle—why this sudden interrogation?’

  She drew a deep, agonised breath. ‘Adam...I’m pregnant.’

  The hand that still enclosed hers had gone very still.

  ‘It’s true,’ she went on in a low but desperate voice. ‘I’m quite sure. And it’s my fault, because I told you I could never have children. I truly believed it—in fact, the doctor told me so when I’d been married a year—but it seems he was wrong—I was wrong, so I’ve deceived you, yet again...’

  He was frowning.

  ‘So I’ve made my plans,’ she went on steadily. ‘I shall go to live in Bath and set up a shop there. Bath is such a lovely place to bring up a child, close to the countryside and—’

  He gathered her in his arms, holding her close. ‘My God. Don’t I get any say in all this?’

  She gazed up at him. ‘But I didn’t think you...’

  ‘Our child,’ he said steadily. ‘Our child, Belle.’

  For the first time in his life, Adam was almost overwhelmed by the surge of emotions that pounded through his blood. After what he’d seen of his own parents’ marriage, he’d dismissed all thoughts of fatherhood and a family. Had never thought he would say those words, Our child.

  But with this woman, his life had opened up to new and wonderful horizons. He and Belle—surely they would be better parents than his own? If only because of the love, the hope, the honesty they shared...

  He kissed Belle’s pale forehead tenderly. ‘All this means,’ he said with hope in his voice, ‘is that we have to alter our plans accordingly.’

  She could hardly breathe.

  ‘We have to get married all the sooner!’ he said joyfully. And pulling her closely to him, Adam kissed Belle, with a slow, sensual kiss of ravishing intimacy.

  * * *

  Later, when they’d got upstairs
and he’d removed her beautiful gown with such tenderness that she thought she’d die of it, he made love to her with a passion that reached new heights for both of them.

  ‘It’s all right, isn’t it?’ he’d asked tenderly, kissing her bare shoulders as her gown slithered to the floor. ‘With the baby?’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ she breathed softly. Besides, she couldn’t have said no to this wonderful man if she’d wanted to. Everything he did was amazing that night. His every touch melted her as he crushed her slender body to his, compressed her soft breasts against his hard chest and inflamed her with his kisses. Was it because she’d thought she’d lost him? Or was it because they’d finally found each other?

  A combination of both, she decided deliriously as Adam, who seemed to know exactly what her yearning body and her ardent heart craved, aroused her to fresh heights of longing—teasing her and tormenting her until she cried out aloud, desperate for the silken strength of him inside her, completing her. Afterwards he cherished her, holding her steadily in his arms and kissing her flushed face as the aftermath of her pleasure rippled through her again and again, leaving her breathless, speechless, melting with joy.

  He talked to her then, as the single candle burned steadily over the fireplace. He told her in his husky voice how he’d never thought he would meet anyone who could mean what she did to him.

  ‘It was my stupid pride, Belle,’ he told her, stroking her cheek. ‘I was so tired of being told I should marry and I’d seen what marriage did to my parents.’

  ‘Your brother, Freddy, is happy,’ she reminded him, stroking his deliciously stubbled jaw as the shadows fluttered around them.

  ‘Freddy is very happy, yes, and Louisa is wonderful. Freddy wasn’t as scarred by our upbringing as I was.’

  ‘Because you protected him.’ She laid her face against his chest.

  ‘I tried to make sure he didn’t hear what I heard. I hoped he didn’t realise just how much our mother despised our father.’ He drew a deep breath. ‘Then, of course, I always felt the weight of the family inheritance on my shoulders. People assumed that all I cared about was money and I did—I still do. But in many ways I see wealth as a way in which someone like me can change people’s lives for the better.’

  ‘Like your railway,’ she murmured, nestling into his strong arms.

  ‘Like my railway. If you could hear, Belle, how people like Jarvis speak with such contempt of their workers. God knows I’m no saint, but I do have some desire to make their lives a little easier. I am driven, yes; I’ll always be ambitious. Apart from early on vowing never to endure a repeat of my father’s unhappiness, I never thought I’d have time for marriage and a family—until I met you. And then...’ he cupped her face tenderly in one hand ‘...then I was smitten, not just by your beauty, but by your pride, your spirit. But I thought that you loved your husband.’

  ‘No,’ she breathed. ‘No. He hurt me so much that I never wanted to be with another man. He told me I was—undesirable.’

  ‘Do you believe that now?’ He was holding her closer and pressing his lips to her cheek. ‘Do you?’

  ‘No, Adam.’ Her eyes shone. ‘With you, I feel the most beautiful woman in the world.’

  ‘Which you are,’ he chided softly, drawing one tender finger down her cheek to her lips. ‘But I thought I’d lost you, Belle. That bargain I’d made with Jarvis was unforgivable. Believe me, it wasn’t long before I began to regret it bitterly. I told Jarvis so at Lord Horwich’s ball.’

  ‘Though even when you tried to explain I wouldn’t listen,’ she breathed. ‘I was foolish and proud.’

  ‘No more so than me. And I paid for it. I almost lost the one thing that mattered most of all—your love.’

  The pad of his thumb brushed across her trembling lips, and she was pierced by the raw emotion in his eyes. She caught his hand and kissed it. ‘I’ve made mistakes, too, Adam. In so many ways.’

  ‘You’ve been brave, my love,’ he whispered. ‘Brave and selfless. You were willing to give up so much for your brother, and then you would have sacrificed yourself for me. My God, I nearly lost my mind when I realised Jarvis had taken you from Bath.’

  ‘You never believed—’ her voice was racked with anxiety now ‘—that I would have gone with him willingly?’

  ‘Never,’ he assured her. ‘But I didn’t realise you were prepared to go so far, for my sake. We will work everything out now, sweetheart.’ His voice was husky, his breath warm against her cheek as he whispered, ‘I love you. Never leave me again, Belle. Promise me.’

  ‘I promise. Oh, Adam, I love you, too, so very much!’

  ‘We must get married very soon. If our baby’s a girl I’ll love her and spoil her terribly, to make up for all the love that you didn’t have as a child.’

  ‘If it’s a boy?’ she teased, stroking back his hair.

  He was silent a moment, then, ‘If we have a son, I’ll teach him never to lose sight of all the things in life that really matter.’ He caught her hand and kissed it. ‘There’s an exciting new world ahead of us, Belle. Steam railways are only the beginning. Our sons—and daughters—will see it all.’

  Belle smiled mischievously. ‘It sounds as if you’re planning on a whole brood.’

  Adam grinned back. ‘I don’t see why we shouldn’t have a try at outnumbering Freddy’s family. But...’ and he paused, a mischievous glint in his eyes ‘...no lapdogs.’

  ‘And no Egyptian furniture.’ She spoke emphatically.

  Adam held her very tightly. ‘Hussy,’ he said. ‘Shameless, wilful hussy. To force me into buying that hideous stuff—how am I going to extract payment from you for that little trick?’

  Already the familiar surge of heated desire was flaring inside her as her fingertips drifted across his hair-roughened chest. She nibbled at his ear with her lips and murmured, ‘I can think of several ways you might like to be paid. Only it will be instalments, Adam my love. Night—after night—after night...’

  He held her close, his eyes burning darkly. ‘This is really for ever, sweetheart.’

  Just a day ago, she faced despair. Now, she was the happiest woman alive. ‘For ever, Adam my love,’ she breathed.

  Epilogue

  June, ten months later

  Speedily Adam climbed the wide staircase of the Clarges Street mansion and strode into the light, airy sitting room that was now a nursery. Settling himself on the sofa beside Belle, he gazed down at the sleeping baby in his wife’s arms.

  ‘How is she?’ he breathed.

  ‘Exactly the same as she was two hours ago, when you went out,’ Belle teased. ‘Well fed and happy. Adam, how was your meeting?’

  ‘Absolutely fine,’ he told her, putting his arm round her shoulders and drawing her close. ‘The shareholders of the Sawle Down quarry want to invest in more equipment and there’s interest in our stone from builders and architects all over the country.’

  ‘Which means more jobs, more prosperity for Somerset. I’m so glad.’ Belle hesitated. ‘Adam, I had a letter from Charlotte this morning. She and Edward want to come and stay with us next week for a few days. I think she has some news.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘I don’t think she’s pregnant,’ Belle said quickly. ‘I don’t think she ever will be, sadly. But you know, don’t you, that she’s been helping at the church orphanage in Bath? And she and Edward—they may be able to adopt.’ Her face softened. ‘There’s a baby girl called Sophie—I think they’ve fallen completely in love with her. You don’t mind, do you, if they visit us? You’ll remember how entranced Charlotte was with Clara when she first saw her. And I’d be really happy if she had a baby of her own.’

  Adam leaned over to kiss her cheek gently. ‘I’ll be glad to see them.’

  ‘It was so good of you to make Edward a shareholder in the Sawle Down quarry, Adam.’

  ‘Not at all. Your brother’s proved himself an asset in promoting our Bath stone and I’ll be able to discuss some new contracts with him when he ar
rives in London. Meanwhile—on to more important things.’

  Belle looked anxious as he reached in his coat pocket to pull out a news sheet. ‘Here you are,’ he said, his eyes dancing. ‘Forget your brother, and Bath stone and railways; now for the real news of the week. Remember Lady Causton’s ball last Friday? Well, here’s a piece about it.’ He unfolded the paper and started to read aloud. ‘Mrs Adam Davenant looked sublime in a ballgown of violet sarcenet adorned with rouleaus of cream silk. A headdress of pale pink gauze and feathers completed an outfit that took the fashionable world by storm...’

  ‘Oh, no!’ Belle laughed and pretended to hide her face blushingly against her husband’s shoulder. ‘Adam, you know very well that Gabby and I practically threw that outfit together in about two hours when you told me I just had to leave Clara with the nursemaid for the evening and come with you to that ball!’

  ‘And baby Clara was none the worse for it,’ said Adam softly, touching his daughter’s tiny curled fist. As if recognising her father’s touch, Clara opened her eyes—eyes of green—and her perfect little fingers fluttered against Adam’s big palm.

  Belle, on seeing his expression, felt her heart overflow with joy.

  ‘There’s more.’ He picked up the news sheet again. ‘Listen. Mr Davenant’s wife was once famous...’

  ‘Once famous!’ she protested indignantly.

  ‘Was once famous for the avant-garde styles she created in her fashionable Piccadilly shop. She is believed to still have a hand in the designs sold in the shop, though it is now run by her former assistant, Mrs Gabrielle Bellamy.’

  ‘Oh,’ breathed Belle, ‘this means dear Gabby will be busier than ever. That shop means so much to her.’ She paused a moment. ‘As it did to me,’ she added quietly.

  His arm was tightly round her again. ‘Do you miss it, sweetheart? Do you miss your independence?’

  Belle gazed down at their baby sleeping again in her arms, then looked up at Adam, her eyes shimmering with happiness. ‘Well,’ she said carefully, ‘I suppose I’ll always want to stay in touch with Gabby and the latest fashions. After all, I would hate my husband to grow bored with me...’