Regency Romance Collection: Regency Fire: The Historical Regency Romance Complete Series (Books 1-5)

by Bridget Barton

  If Evelyn needed any more proof that her married life would be controlled, and her former friends and some of her family banished entirely, now she had it. She had it straight from the lips of the person whom Evelyn began to see as the real power behind the Cunninghams.

  As much as Cornelius was the Duke, Prudence was clearly the more devious of the two, and Evelyn thought it very likely that the woman had not one shred of human feeling in that stone heart of hers.

  Once again, Evelyn smiled without speaking and silently wondered how to extricate herself from the promise her thoughtless parents had made.

  Chapter Nine

  Evelyn had written a hasty letter to Stuart Penhaligon the moment she and her mother returned to Gorton Hall from their visit to the Cunninghams.

  There had been something so awful about being in Horndean that had made Evelyn truly relieved to be in her own home once more.

  She had taken to her room immediately after an almost silent carriage ride home with her mother. Evelyn knew that, even as she lay upon her bed, her mother would be telling her father of the friendship between Stuart Penhaligon and the Duke of Calgarth. Of course, the Earl of Gorton would be easily persuaded to sacrifice a family tie to ensure the money he had been promised for what Evelyn had now come to think of as the sale of his only daughter.

  As tears of anger and fear rolled down her face, Evelyn had decided to take matters into her own hands. As much as Stuart had helped his friend in his attempts to meet with her, Evelyn knew him to be kind and certainly honest enough to tell her the truth if she asked for it.

  Rising quickly from her bed, she had scribbled a letter to Stuart asking him if she could attend Harbury Hall the next afternoon for tea. She expressed the urgency of the meeting and her fervent wish that he would agree to see her.

  Evelyn knew that she must maintain a happy countenance in the company of her parents; otherwise, they might suspect her ill feeling and curtail what little freedom she had left. If she were to be allowed to make her way out of the house the next day on horseback, claiming to be setting off on one of her customary rides out, Evelyn would have to play the role her parents had always forced upon her. The role of happy, dutiful daughter.

  Sneaking into the servant’s quarters, Evelyn found her trusty lady’s maid, Alice, and begged that she would take the message to Harbury Hall, wait for a reply, and tell no one of her actions. Alice agreed immediately, asking no questions, and making no argument.

  Before afternoon tea had been served, Evelyn had her answer. Stuart had agreed to their afternoon meeting and looked forward to seeing her.

  With a plan beginning to form in her mind, Evelyn felt a little better. She was even able to make light and inconsequential conversation with her parents over dinner, seeming every bit the excited bride-to-be.

  But Evelyn was anything but. Evelyn was no longer going to be a pawn in everybody else’s game. Evelyn was going to make a game of her own. Evelyn was going to look at life and see which option suited her best, and care little for the thoughts and feelings of others as she herself had experienced.

  When the time came for her to make her way to Harbury Hall the following afternoon, Evelyn had been so bright and cheerful that she had lulled her parents into a false sense that all was well. Not for one moment had they suspected that their daughter’s plan to ride out for the afternoon was nothing more than a way of her making a plan to thwart their attempts to live a comfortable life on the back of the suffering of their only daughter.

  Although she knew she would be returning home from Harbury Hall, something about the ride over there felt like freedom. Evelyn felt her hair coming free at the back and flowing loosely about her shoulders as she heeled her horse into a canter across the beautiful, windswept and rugged countryside. By the time she arrived at Harbury Hall, as immaculately dressed as she was in a midnight blue gown and matching cape, Evelyn knew that her countenance declared her a wild thing, and she cared not to change it.

  “I say, Evelyn, did you run all the way here?” Stuart said when his butler led her into the rather dark and masculine drawing room.

  As always, Stuart’s smile was bright and welcoming. However, his eyes spoke of concern, and perhaps even a little guilt.

  “I did not run here, cousin, but I had an energy about me that would have allowed me to do so had I so wished,” Evelyn said rather forcefully.

  “Well, do come in. Tea will be with us at any moment,” Stuart said a little awkwardly.

  “Good, I should very much like a cup of tea,” Evelyn replied, removing her bonnet and re-fastening her hair.

  She was determined to wait in silence until tea arrived and she and Stuart could be left alone to talk in complete privacy. Evelyn chose not to make small talk, rather wanting to upend Stuart a little, even make his nerves jangle somewhat. Even if he did care for her, he did not deserve to get away scot-free with his secret meddling in her life. Realising that Stuart entirely perceived her annoyance gave Evelyn a small amount of satisfaction.

  “So, do tell me what is so urgent, my dear Evelyn,” Stuart said the moment the maid bearing the tea tray had departed.

  “I have some questions to ask you, Stuart, and I expect you to answer me truthfully.”

  “That suggests that I am not always truthful with you, Evelyn.”

  “And are you telling me that you have been?” Evelyn said and fixed him with a glare.

  At that moment, she could clearly read on his face that he knew exactly to what she was referring.

  “No, Evelyn, I have not been entirely truthful. And yet I do not think I have acted so terribly, my dear.”

  “That remains to be seen, Stuart,” Evelyn said, shortly. “Since I can safely assume that you know very well that I am referring to your contriving my meetings with your friend, the Duke of Calgarth, I shall get straight to the point.”

  “Please allow me to say, if you will, that whilst I fully admit to my part in things, I certainly did it with the best of intentions. I truly thought that you would be far better off in the Farrington family than you would ever be with the Cunninghams.”

  “I had rather come to that decision myself, Stuart,” Evelyn said, still not keen to relent and allow her cousin any peace. “But I want it to be on my terms. You see, I do not want to jump from the frying pan into the fire. I want to know exactly what it is I face if I become a part of the Farrington household. Obviously, I am perfectly well aware of Gabriel Farrington’s plan, and that I was nothing more than a pawn in his game.”

  “In truth, you were, Evelyn, and yet still I thought you would be better off,” Stuart said, spreading his hands wide and looking at her in a most beseeching way. “But there is something else you must know, really there is.”

  “And that is?” Evelyn said, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

  “That is that I saw my dear friend Gabriel fall for you almost immediately. Yes, when he had simply seen you from afar, he saw you as a means of damaging the Cunninghams. He admitted as much to me himself. And yet, after that very first meeting at Amelia’s afternoon of tea and bridge, I saw a change in him. I saw his regard for you become something very real.”

  “How nice,” Evelyn said, somewhat sarcastically.

  “I speak the truth, cousin,” Stuart said with a great sigh. “And I have seen that regard continue to grow, to the point where all he can talk of is how he can rescue you. With my hand on my heart, I tell you that he has not mentioned the idea of damaging the Cunninghams in this respect for some good, long while. Instead, he talks of you, and of everything that you are currently suffering at the hands of Eleonora.”

  “Does he, indeed? And you believe him, do you?” Evelyn said, searching her cousin’s face for any sign that he was lying.

  “I do not have to search for the truth in my dealings with Gabriel. We have been friends since we were at school, and I know when he speaks the truth to me.”

  “Well, I shall speak some truths to you, Stuart,” Evelyn said, so
me of the fire in her heart dying down just a little. “Eleonora Cunningham has finally perceived the relationship between yourself and Gabriel Farrington, and she has very much demanded that my family break all ties with yours. Of course, my dear parents agreed without question.” Evelyn paused, keen to see if the idea had hurt him at all.

  “As much as I realise they need the money, Evelyn, I could never have imagined your father agreeing to such a thing. Still, I daresay he has weighed it all up and seen our two families are not so terribly close. Perhaps he is simply doing what he thinks he must do to protect the Earldom of Gorton.”

  “Oh, please do not excuse him, Stuart. You and I both know that his behaviour is reprehensible. Still, I am glad to have finally seen it for myself because it gives me such resolve. I shall not be used any longer. I shall not be used by the Cunninghams, nor my parents, nor even Gabriel Farrington. Instead, I intend to move the pieces on this chessboard. I intend to marry your friend if that would give him such joy over his enemies.”

  “My dear girl, I truly think that the joy it would give him would have nothing to do with the Cunninghams. I think it would be the joy of being married to you, Evelyn.”

  “Really?” Evelyn said flatly as she rolled her eyes.

  “Really,” Stuart said and seemed determined to have his say. “But perhaps you will not believe it from me. Perhaps you ought to hear it from the man himself.” And with that, Stuart began to rise to his feet.

  “He is here, isn’t he?” Evelyn said, feeling suddenly venomous. “Once again, you have deceived me, cousin.”

  “I have deceived you for your very own good, Evelyn,” Stuart said, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. “Because after Gabriel told me of the threats that Eleonora Cunningham made, I knew that she and Prudence would carry them out. I do not know how else to help you and find that my deception was all that I had to fall back upon.”

  “As angry as I am, Stuart, I do see it,” Evelyn said, her eyes closed as she blinked back tears.

  In truth, she did not know whether they were the tears of disappointment at having been deceived once more or if it was simply all her circumstances laying heavy upon her shoulders, threatening to drive her deep into the earth.

  “Then I shall call for him,” Stuart said and bent down to lightly kiss her cheek before he turned to leave the room.

  Chapter Ten

  As Gabriel Farrington walked into the room, Evelyn looked up sharply at him. The moment she set eyes upon him, she was reminded of just how attracted to him she was. Not only was he the only man she had found so appealing in all her three and twenty years, but he was the only one who had ever shown an interest in her opinion. If only she could find out if that interest had been real or simply another part of his plan.

  “I am sorry to have come upon you this way once more, Evelyn,” Gabriel said as he strode into the room and made his way to the couch to sit beside her.

  “I realise now that you and I would have never met, but your plans made it so. At Amelia’s, here at Harbury Hall, Tangletree Wood, and now here again. Everything just as you desire it, Gabriel Farrington.”

  “And you have every right to your anger, Evelyn, truly you do,” Gabriel said and reached out to take her hand.

  For a moment, Evelyn could not speak. Richard Cunningham had taken her hand before, and it had felt as nothing more than an irritation to her. And yet, her hand in Gabriel Farrington’s could not have felt more different. His hands were large and dry, with smooth skin. Richard Cunningham’s had been small and rather damp, and far from pleasurable to feel against her own. And Gabriel gripped her hand firmly but not too tightly. There was something about that grip that spoke deeply to her of true masculinity. Not the angry masculinity of warring families and men with something to prove, but rather the silent essence of true manliness.

  “I shall, perhaps, make this easy for you, Gabriel. I will marry you,” Evelyn said without a hint of joy in her voice. “And I shall be honest with you from the very beginning, in stark contrast to your behaviour towards me.”

  “But Evelyn …”

  “I shall marry you to save myself, Gabriel. I shall marry you to save myself from a lifetime’s imprisonment inside the walls of Horndean Hall with all the hideous characters that dwell there. I do not know if your regard for me is real or simply another part of the plan. I do not know if your interest in my opinions, nor your seeming desire to discover more about my personality, is real either. And yet, I shall not let that worry me. I shall take life and deal with it in the same manner that you and Richard Cunningham do. I shall look out for my own best interests, regardless of the fortunes of my family and the feelings of either you or Richard. The only difference is that I shall be entirely honest about it.”

  “Evelyn, my dear woman, that is awfully hard,” Gabriel said, seeming every bit hurt by her words.

  Evelyn could see the hurt in his eyes and did not know whether to laugh or cry. How truly wonderful it would have been to have met him in ordinary circumstances and for the two of them to have simply fallen in love. Of course, that was never to be. Evelyn would simply marry him, never once knowing if his regard for her was ever real.

  “As much as I appreciate your honesty, Evelyn, I do not welcome it,” Gabriel said, looking down for the first time, despite maintaining his grip on her hand. “For you see, I have tried on two occasions now to be honest with you, and you will not hear me out. You would rather see me as the villain, and I do not deny that that is how I started off in all of this.” Gabriel turned his attention upon her again, his blue-grey eyes fixed firmly to hers.

  “I did listen … I …”

  “You did not, Evelyn. I tried to tell you of my feelings in the woods, and you would not have it. I am trying to tell you of them again now, and seemingly you still will not have it. But I will tell you, Evelyn, and you can see if you still wish to marry me at the end of it.”

  Evelyn tried to look away, unable to bear the intensity of his gaze any longer. However, as she did so, Gabriel took her chin in his free hand and turned her head to face him. Her heart suddenly began to thunder along, and she knew she had never felt so much for a man in all her life.

  “It is true that all of this began in my mind as a means of taking the upper hand in a long-running feud. But that was before I came to know you, Evelyn. That was before we had even spoken. I know that my initial intent was far from honest, and even further from being right. But I knew, believe me, from that very first afternoon in Amelia Merriweather’s drawing-room, that you were somebody very special. I knew, without any doubts, that you were the most engaging, intelligent, and interesting young lady of my acquaintance. The only one I had met in my thirty years.” He paused for a moment, moving his hand from her chin to the side of her face. As he stroked her cheek gently, he went on, “And on our second afternoon, right here in this drawing-room, it was all I could do to stop myself falling to my knees and begging you to marry me there and then. From that moment, any idea of revenge upon the Cunninghams was the very furthest thing from my mind. All I have been able to think about is you, Evelyn, and I wish I could make you see the truth of it. When I met you in the woods and discovered the cruel threats that had been made against you, I felt my part in your misfortune most keenly. Please forgive me for the way I have behaved, and please at least think about everything I have said to you, for it is the whole truth.”

  “I had come here today fully intent upon being as cruel as I perceive everybody else to have been. And yet, listening to you now, I know I cannot do it. I could not marry for anything other than love, and I truly believe that you are the only man I shall ever have such feelings for. What has held me back and made me so angry is the very idea that you do not feel for me what I feel for you.”

  “But I do feel it, Evelyn. I do not want to marry on such angry terms; I want to marry you because you love me as much as I love you. That is all I want.”

  “And that is all I want,” Evelyn said and instinctiv
ely she reached for him.

  As she reached for him, Gabriel pulled her firmly into his arms and began to kiss her passionately. Evelyn had never been kissed before and could hardly believe how his lips on hers made her entire body feel alive with desire.

  As they continued to kiss, Gabriel began to run his hands along the soft curves of her body, and she heard herself moan with pleasure. Gently, Gabriel pushed her backward on the couch until she was beneath him.

  Feeling his body hard and taught against her, Evelyn experienced a deep longing that she had never known herself capable of. She wanted him more than anything in the world, and she wanted him there and then. Hardly knowing what she was doing, Evelyn pushed the fabric of his tailcoat, easing it down his shoulders until he came free of it and it hit the floor. In no time at all, she had his waistcoat unbuttoned and removed. As she pulled at the fastenings of his shirt, exposing his muscular, smooth chest, she felt the moan escape from him. She looked into his eyes and saw there what she had hoped to see all along. Gabriel Farrington wanted her for herself and herself alone. All his thoughts of vengeance had been pushed away, and all he could see was her.

  He was panting hard, and Evelyn knew they did not have much time. However, something deep inside her ached for him, and she knew she could not leave that drawing-room until they had become as one person.

  Suddenly, Gabriel rose from the couch and pulled her up to standing. He hastily undid the fastenings of her gown and lifted it clean over her head in no time at all. In between kisses, his fingers urgently worked at the fastenings of her undergarments, rendering her entirely naked before him.

  Gabriel ran his hands up and down her body, stopping at her breasts. Evelyn moaned loudly and wanted him more urgently than ever. Hurriedly she pulled at his shirt, throwing it to the floor with the rest of his garments. Gabriel quickly removed his own boots and trousers and, for a moment, they simply stood naked before each other, their hearts pounding, and their eyes full of longing.