“Your father and I will have to become allies.”
Shock sliced through her. “Your sentiments, are they genuine, sir?”
“As genuine as my feelings for you. I’ve gone through a great deal of life searching for the woman who would complete me, Caroline. If you think I’m going to allow such a simple challenge to our happiness stand in our way, you are greatly mistaken. I will make peace between your foolish papa and I, and I will give him a proposition he isn’t likely to refuse.”
She was about to ask him what he meant by that dangerous statement when Lady Wallsworth’s butler found them.
“Her ladyship awaits your arrival in the Drawing Room, Miss Griffiths.”
“I bid you adieu, for now, Caroline.” He kissed her hand gallantly and then turned to stride away.
Her heart felt heavy in her chest—had she just made things better—or worse?
Chapter Nine
Edward arrived at Carleton Abbey and looked up at the foreboding Jacobean Manor House. He strode up the long walk. The gardens were derelict and no trees, or shrubberies of any sort decorated the vast lawn. The place had an air of staleness to it, and told him that whoever lived here was cold, calculating and bereft of any kind of want to keep the house looking the way it should. There would be no Christmas festivities here, that much he could tell.
Either Caroline’s uncle the Baronet was a veritable pauper—or he was a skinflint. If she were related to such a man—to such a miser, he could not understand her father’s willingness to move back to such an abode and put Caroline at the mercy of such a horrible man. Still, he had made a promise to Caroline and he would follow through. He would make his best attempts to become Benjamin Griffiths’ friend.
He was expected so that was a bit of a blessing, as he didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary in such a gloomy place.
The butler that received him looked as if he had climbed out of the grave. His eyes were hard and cold, and his nose looked like a bird’s beak.
He was taken into the Jacobean Solar. Everything inside of the house looked tired and dust floated through the air in liberal fashion. The Baronet obviously didn’t keep a staff that was worth their salt.
He finally recognized her father standing by one of the windows. The drapes he stood near were tattered and should have been changed years ago.
His hands were clasped behind his back, and his shoulders were slumped in a defeated fashion. He wore an old worn out jacket and his trousers looked as if they’d seen better days.
Curiously enough, his horrible wife was nowhere in sight. This surprised him as he’d felt certain she would have wanted to be around to accept a duke socially.
He cleared his throat loudly so Benjamin would turn around as the useless butler hadn’t announced him.
Benjamin Griffiths turned around slowly. The expression he wore on his face was both sad and severe. His eyes were listless, no emotion glittered in them, and he felt almost sorry for the man, for he cut quite a wretched profile.
One thing was for certain—he couldn’t leave him in such a state. No one deserved to live in such abysmal surroundings.
“I made absolutely nothing of myself, Your Grace. When we lived in Banbury House, we made do on the income your father left to Margaret and on the conservative income that I make by renting out a house in Wales that my father willed to me upon his death. I suppose he decided that since I hadn’t made my own way as a clergyman or as a military man that I needed something upon which to support my family. In hindsight, I should have pursued the respectable occupation of clergyman or military man. However, now that the family who lived in my house in Wales is finding alternate lodgings I shall be moving there. Gertrude will accompany me, though she deeply regrets leaving her family. She is my wife and it’s her duty to go where I go. Continuing to live here at Carleton Abbey is out of the question. My brother counts every shilling that it costs him to keep us here. Kidwelly House isn’t as grand as Banbury but it will do us quite nicely, and I’ll finally be living somewhere that doesn’t make me feel guilty every single day for being there.”
“Nonetheless, as far as I am concerned Banbury House is still Caroline’s. Lady Margaret was given the house and the surrounding land by my father and I would never spit on his grave by robbing you of what was rightfully yours.”
“Be that as it may, sir, Banbury House is as you say my daughter’s home. I only stayed on there with her because she loved it so—but that time has passed. We are no longer in each other’s orbit and I must live a life that I can have full financial dominion over. I realize now that I made errors in allowing my wife to believe that she was mistress of Banbury House, she never should have been allowed that authority, and it has led to the parting of ways between my darling Caroline and I. When you marry Caroline I expect you to bring her back into my life by allowing her to see me at Kidwelly House.”
“So you sanction our marriage?”
He sighed heavily. “I was foolish to be against it in the first place, Duke. I realized that as I listened to Gertrude going on about how horrible you are. I’ve decided that I shall like anything that Gertrude detests, although I can’t lower myself to liking this place. It’s changed so much since I was a child. My brother is a cold, hard man, and he’s sucked the life out of this house. I can’t abide being around him much longer. He’s a wicked beast to his poor wife, and if I stay here much longer I shall do something I shall regret.”
“I am glad you have come to your senses.” The female voice shocked them both. Georgia walked into the Solar. “This place looks like death, and smells like it as well,” she pronounced, looking at it with a distasteful curl about her lips.
“What do I owe the honour of this visit?” Benjamin asked, bowing to her.
“I came here because this morning I was re-reading a letter my sister wrote to me years ago after the birth of Caroline. She was so happy and while you were not her true love, you did love her deeply and you treated her the way she deserved. For that reason alone, I decided to pay you a call. I was far too rash to push you out of Caroline’s life. I realize the error of my ways.”
“There is nothing for you to regret saying or doing, Georgia. I was wrong to bring Gertrude into our lives and I realized that far too late to fix the problem.”
Edward felt like the odd person out. He should leave immediately and allow them to sort their differences out.
“And what about you, Duke? Are you truly in love with Caroline?” Georgia asked.
“I will love her until my last breath,” Edward declared.
“Well then. I do think Benjamin and I will have to orchestrate the perfect way for you to finally claim her hand in marriage. She loves you no matter how hard she tries to deny it. She will languish in misery of her own making, until I give her the gentle push she requires in your direction. For that reason alone, you shall come to our Christmas Ball tomorrow night. Come and whisk her off her feet and make her yours. Love her like Benjamin loved my sister, and the way that my Robbie loves me. That’s the only thing I can ask of you.”
“I shall be there,” he said, bowing to her. With that he left the two to sort out their differences alone. He had made his peace with Benjamin and now Caroline would be happy.
* * * * *
Cleeve Hall was bursting at the seams with revelry. No expense had been spared in throwing the lavish ball and the lords and ladies in attendance would talk about it for years to come.
Caroline, however, felt too constrained. The corset she wore seemed to suck every breath out of her, and the ball gown she wore was a bit heavy for her tastes. Dressed in her favourite colour of green, she stood with her aunt and uncle as they greeted their guests.
When she saw Edward and his mother coming their way, she slipped out of the receiving line and tried to lose herself in the throng of people. She’d have to beg off soon to help her cousins get ready for the Pantomime they’d perform for the guests.
“Caroline!”
She stopped. She couldn’t turn to face him, if she did, she’d probably end up running into his arms and that kind of spectacle could not happen at an event like this.
Instead, she continued to wind her way through the guests to find a quiet spot in the far corner of the Ballroom.
Of course, he hadn’t given up and found her once again.
“If you have a dance card, I’d like to fill it with my name.”
She felt nervous around him. She shouldn’t feel like this. She’d never felt like this before and yet, he was making her heart race and her mind, well, her mind couldn’t come up with a witty retort for him.
“I’ve made my peace with your father.”
Still, she was tongue-tied.
“Your aunt invited me to this Ball.”
“She did?” At this, she couldn’t keep quiet.
“Aye. She wants me to finally set my cap on you. They both want us to become leg-shackled.”
Her heart started to return to its normal steady beat.
“Do you still want to marry me? I know we made a mull of this so I feel as if I should express myself quite clearly. My deepest desire is to have you as my wife, Caroline. Would you accept my offer?” he asked. “Pray, make me the happiest man in all of Christendom by accepting my offer. I never thought you’d rejected me, only your father was between us. So, will you marry me, Miss Caroline Griffiths?”
She swallowed thickly and studied the look of adoration in his eyes. If he loved her as much as he seemed to—how could she not marry him? She couldn’t keep fighting her feelings for him forever. Could she continue to deny herself the happiness she felt whenever she saw him?
She couldn’t repeat the mistakes of the past. She couldn’t live out her life the way her mother had been forced to live, without the man she truly loved. She could ruin her happiness by robbing herself of that most intimate connection.
“Yes,” she said smiling. “Yes, I will marry you, Edward Rochester, my dashingly daring Duke.”
Her declaration lit his face up. He smiled, and looked as if he wanted to move in to kiss her. He pecked her quickly on the lips. The kiss was quite chaste but it was enough to send a thrilling rush throughout her. If she had any doubts before on whether or not he was the man for her, she didn’t have any now.
She loved being with him. It felt right having him standing so close to her. He didn’t seem satisfied with just the kiss. He lifted her up in his arms, so her legs dangled off the ground. His raw masculinity shone through as he twirled her about. “I was about ready to challenge your father to a duel. Fortunately, he wanted us to be friends.”
Their intimate moment had attracted the attention of the rest of the guests. Shocked gasps echoed through the ballroom.
“You wouldn’t have dared!” she said, laughing, as he set her back on her feet.
“Oh, I would dare anything if it meant being with you, Caroline, my sweet.”
“We should probably stop the show we’re putting on for everyone. They will think we are quite scandalous!”
“Let them all think what they want. Damn the lot of them,” he whispered, staring at her lovingly.
Her aunt glided to them as the last quadrille came to an end. The music died out as everyone stood staring at them.
“So,” Georgia said, rubbing her hands briskly together. “Shall we plan for a Christmas Wedding?”
“I can have the special license within a few days,” Edward said.
Georgia nodded her head happily. “Then we shall plan for a Christmas Wedding. Oh, how lovely it will be! I will make sure it is remembered for years to come!”
“I don’t know about the wedding but the bride will take my breath away with her beauty,” Edward said.
Grinning, she felt a blush touch her cheeks. Life was about to get better—or maybe it was about to return to normal. It was about to go back to the way her mother would have wanted her life to be like.
“You will love the Pantomime my cousins and I are going to perform, Edward.”
“I will love anything in which you star, Caroline.”
“This one shall have a special meaning for you, for it is a fairy tale.”
“And you are my Princess.” They kissed once again, and everyone around them gave their applause.
She had been blessed with a miracle. She had been blessed with a Christmas miracle.
Chapter Ten
They were married on a crisp and cool morning on the morning of Christmas Eve. The chapel they were married in was decorated with Christmas greenery and her aunt had added some decorations, namely some Christmas Roses as they were a personal favourite of Caroline’s.
She wore a white silk dress with a cherry red cloak to shield her from the cold when they left the Church, and she had donned the same pearl necklace and earrings that her mother had worn as a young bride. Her welsh gold wedding band Edward gave her warmed her ring finger on her left hand.
Everything was perfect. Her father had relented, wanting to be a part of his daughter’s wedding day. He’d given her away and as they parted, she could see true happiness in his eyes. He seemed a much more carefree man since he’d told Gertrude to mind her manners.
The church bells started to ring merrily as they celebrated their nuptials.
As they left the Church, fat snowflakes started to fall from the sky. Everything was perfect—they had a divine Christmas wedding!
Her husband stopped and whispered in her ear: “No matter how long I live, I will always think of you as my Christmas Nymph. You own my heart, Caroline.”
“I love you, Edward—my Edward.”
They kissed and this time it was more than just a peck. The crowd around them clapped and cheered. After so much heartbreak, her heart had mended and found a new home.
Christmastide had given her the greatest gift of all—it had given her Edward.
And as they settled into their barouche to return to Whitney Park, she heard her mother and brothers laughing merrily, as their voices exclaimed in unison: “Happy Christmas, Caroline!”
The End.
Marly Mathews invites her readers to visit her website: www.marlymathews.com and sign up for her newsletter to stay up to date on future releases!
His Christmas Nymph Page 9
