by Sarah Winn
Gerald had said we, as if he were fully dedicated to protecting Toby. She had prayed for help in protecting her son, and God had sent her a one-armed warrior. Surely, trusting Gerald was the right thing for her to do.
“When will we leave?” she asked.
“Daniel is going back on the four o’clock train. We could travel with him.”
Alarm ran through her. “But that’s only a couple of hours from now. I couldn’t possibly be ready by then.”
He nodded. “All right. We’ll take the morning train.”
She jumped to her feet. “I’ll need to talk to the countess first and be sure she has no reservations about Toby staying here.”
A small smile creased his lips. “I think you’ll find her very sympathetic to our cause.”
* * * *
After watching Ellen rush from the room, Gerald issued a long sign and sank against the padded back of the sofa. He had felt he had no choice but to offer to marry her, but he could not help but question the correctness of this path. Was he taking advantage of the woman’s predicament?
The countess had been right when she said he needed a wife, but Gerald wanted more than a woman’s domestic services. He wanted a life’s companion, a mate, someone to ease the terrible disappoint he felt each morning when he awoke and realized that his right arm was indeed gone. But Ellen had honestly warned him that she still loved Philip, and she readily accepted the idea of a marriage in name only.
It would be difficult for Gerald to live every day with a comely wife in his house and not want to enjoy the pleasures that usually went with marriage. But his debt to Phillip Coyler required him to protect the man’s widow and child no matter the consequences to himself. He had done without intimate female companionship since returning from the Crimea. He could continue to do so. Anyway, wasn’t it better to do without than to see disgust on a woman’s face when she saw his deformed body?
* * * *
Ellen found the countess more than sympathetic. She gave the pending nuptials her enthusiastic approval and immediately threw herself, into trying to put some sort of suitable wedding garments in order. Of course, she and Ellen were not the same size, so there was little she could take from her own closet. She found two bodices that could be taken up through the bosom with simple seams that the household seamstress could quickly accomplish, and a loose-fitting, short jacket that almost matched Ellen’s best, black skirt.
While kindness itself, her efforts only reminded Ellen how totally unsuitable she was as a wife for Gerald Osborne. While she had been impressed by the fact that he had an earl for a friend, she had credited that connection to the bonds that grow between men when they serve together in war. The fact that his father was a bishop serving the highest church official in the land made her feel totally inadequate to be his wife. If it wasn’t for her fear of losing Toby to his horrible grandfather, Ellen would have said no.
She went through the rest of the afternoon in a near daze. She did regain enough poise to explain matters to Toby at his bedtime, so she would not have to wake him in the morning and risk a farewell scene that might leave them both in tears.
Sitting on the side of his bed after tucking him in, she said, “Dearest, Captain Osborne and I are going to leave in the morning for London. Since it will be a hurried trip, the countess and earl have invited you to stay with them until we return.”
Muscles throughout his body seemed to tighten up. “Why can’t I go with you?”
She took a deep breath. “Captain Osborne and I have some legal matters to look into and we’re going—"
“Is it about the bad man who is chasing us?”
She had tried to conceal the danger they were in, but now saw how foolish that plan had been. “Sweetheart, your grandfather—your father’s father—seems to think you would be better off if you went to live with him.”
Toby violently shook his head.
“Of course, I don’t want that to happen, but sometimes a woman alone is not considered strong enough to raise a child, so I need a husband to help me prove you will be properly cared for, and Captain Osborne has offered to marry me.”
Toby frowned at her. “Marry you?”
“Yes, we will be joined legally like your father and I once were.”
“Will the Captain be my papa then?”
“He will be your step-papa.”
“Will we live at his house?”
“Yes, we will.”
Toby’s frown relaxed. “He has a lot of horses, doesn’t he?”
Ellen was able to breathe again. Thanks to the Captain’s kind attentions to Toby in the preceding days and Toby’s typical male attraction to horses, she could foresee her son having an easier time adjusting to this new situation than she and Captain Osborne would have.
Chapter 6
The train pulled into Euston Station with squealing brakes and hissing clouds of steam. Captain Osborne and the other male passenger in their compartment stood and began to assemble luggage. Two of the valises belonging to Ellen and Gerald had been left on the floor under the seats, but a third one was on an overhead rack. As Ellen watched him edge the bag off of the shelf, she wondered if he could manage it with just one arm. One of the coachmen who had driven them to the station in Firthley had loaded the bags there. Should she offer to help? She had a feeling he would be offended if she did. Male pride could be so easily pricked.
As he swung the bag down she noticed the muscles that tightened the coat over the left side of his chest and left bicep. No doubt more compensation for the lack of his right arm, but it reassured her that he was perfectly capable of lifting the valise.
The door to their compartment had been opened, and Gerald waited for the other passengers to disembark before he carried the heavy valise out and plopped it down on the platform. He turned back and gestured for her to come out. Now she was sorely tempted to pick up one of the bags under the seats. After all it was her bag, she had carried it when she fled from London, it would be foolish to make Captain Osborne make several trips, just so she could appear to be delicate.
The sound of someone shouting, “Gerald,” stopped her from bending down to retrieve the bag. Through the window, she saw Mr. Matthews rushing toward them. An elegant blonde woman, dressed all in black, was hurrying along in his wake.
“I’ve got a man here to carry the bags,” Mr. Matthews said as he reached Gerald.
“I didn’t expect you to meet us,” Gerald replied.
“I managed to make an appointment for you with your father for this morning. We need to hurry to get you there on time.”
As Ellen exited the compartment, the blonde woman reached the two men and after a brief greeting with Gerald, she turned toward Ellen with a friendly smile.
Mr. Matthews said, “Mrs. Coylers, allow me to introduce my fiancé, Lady Angela Holden,”
Another aristocrat. Ellen forced a smile to her lips, before saying. “How do you do? So kind of you to come and meet us.”
“Not at all,” Lady Angela replied. “The men have to rush off see about the license. I thought you might like meet your future father-in-law under less stressful conditions, so you can come home with me, and they can join us after the arrangements have been agreed upon.”
Ellen looked at Gerald to gauge his reaction to this suggestion. He gave his head several small nods. “That might be for the best. It will give my father and I a chance to speak more freely.” Her expression must have shown her concern about his interview with his father for he quickly added, “But don’t worry, father is an easy-going man. I’m sure he’ll be on board with this as soon as I fully explain it to him.”
Just how fully would Gerald explain it? Would a bishop of the Anglican Church approve of a marriage in name only? Ellen was suddenly glad she would not be present for that conversation.
A man in green, braid-trimmed livery stepped forward to collect the luggage. Gerald and Mr. Matthews conversed quietly between themselves, so Ellen fell in beside Lady Angela as
the party wound its way through the crowds on the platform and into the cavernous station.
They reached the street and a large carriage with a gold embossed crest on the door instantly moved forward to meet them at the curb. Ellen had no idea what the crest stood for, but it was fancier than the one that had been on the door of the Earl of Firthley’s coach, so she shuddered to think what Lady Angela’s connections must be.
The gentlemen ushered the ladies into the carriage and then rushed off to seek a hired hackney for themselves. Ellen sat back against the heavily padded cushions. “I’m sorry to be a bother, Lady Angela, you must have many other things you want to do today.”
“Please, now that you’re going to be a member of Daniel’s group, call me Angela.”
“Daniel’s group?”
“His particular friends from the war. They served together in the Crimea, and they all came home on the same hospital ship after being wounded during the first season of the war. That’s given them a very tight bond. Of course, I grew up knowing Firthley’s wife. That’s how I came to meet Daniel.”
Ellen nodded. “The countess was very nice to me while we were at Firthley Hall, and she insisted I leave my son there so we could make arrangements for the wedding more easily.”
Angela grinned. “Catherine loves taking care of people. She helped me solve a problem with my own daughter.”
“Oh, you’ve been married before?”
“I’m war widow, like you. My daughter was born two months after her father died, and I had more than a little trouble adjusting to the situation. Catherine not only helped me form a proper bond with my daughter, she also encouraged my betrothal to Daniel. So, as you can see, she loves to meddle in other people’s lives.”
Ellen was a bit shocked at that seemingly derogatory remark. “I think the Countess has the best of intentions.”
Lady Angela chuckled. “Of course, she does. We’re just such old friends that I feel free to poke fun at her. How old is your son?”
“Toby’s five.”
“That’s a very active age.”
Ellen nodded as she noticed their carriage had moved out of heavy city traffic and into a neighborhood of large houses. As their vehicle slowed in front the largest house she had yet seen, her attention fastened on the enormous Palladian-styled mansion surrounded by neatly trimmed lawns and a brick and wrought-iron fence taller than most men. The carriage lurched a bit as it turned to pass through the open gateway.
“Oh, here we are,” Lady Angela said.
“This is your house?” Ellen asked in astonishment.
“It’s my father’s, but I’m serving as his hostess since my mother’s death.”
“Who is your father?”
“The Duke of Bainbridge. “
Ellen was dumbfounded. First an earl’s house and now a duke’s. What was she getting herself into? These people were from another world. Gerald had seemed common enough when she first met him, but his father was a bishop. Would such a man allow his son to marry a nobody like her?
Lady Angela suddenly patted her hand. “Don’t worry, dear. Father is away on one of his little trips. It will just be us. We can talk about weddings to our hearts’ content.”
More guilt blossomed in Ellen. “You—you do know our marriage is not a love-match, don’t you?”
Lady Angela nodded. “Daniel explained the situation to me, and I understand perfectly. A mother must do whatever is necessary to protect her child. But Gerald needs a wife. Catherine and I both agree on that. You can be a great help to him, and your relationship will surely grow into something that will be satisfying to the both of you.”
Obviously, Daniel had not fully explained the situation to Lady Angela. But the carriage stopped, and a footman sprang forward to open the door and help them disembark, so Ellen was spared having to share the fact that the marriage was to be in name only.
* * * *
The offices of the Archbishop of Canterbury stood within the shadow of St. Paul’s Cathedral. As their hackney pulled to a stop in the front of the columned building, Daniel said, “I’ll be leaving you here. I need to get back to my uncle’s office and at least appear to be working for him. Besides, you and your father will probably need some privacy.”
Gerald extended his left hand. “You’ve already gone beyond the call of normal friendship. Thank you.”
Daniel vigorously shook his hand. “We’re just all so damn glad to see you finally get married.”
Gerald knew the remark was meant as a joke and chuckled. “Let’s just hope my father feels the same way.”
As he exited the hackney, Daniel slapped him on the back and called, “Good luck, and leave word with Angela about how things turn out. I’m having dinner with her tonight.”
Gerald waved at his friend and then marched up the steps and into the grey, stone building. He easily found his father’s office, having been there many times in the past. The clerk greeted him by name and quickly ushered him into his father’s presence.
The Bishop, that’s how Gerald always thought of his father when he was in an official setting, looked up and smiled. “Right on time. I half expected you to be delayed, the way the trains run these days.”
He stood, came around his desk, and extended his hand in the universal invitation to shake hands. Then he changed the direction of his arm, brought it up, and briefly embraced Gerald’s shoulder. “Let’s sit on the sofa,” he said and gestured at the black, stiffly-tufted settee that stood against the near wall.
Once they were seated, the bishop said, “Your friend, Mr. Matthews, told my clerk you have a matter of some urgency to discuss with me.”
Gerald had expected—or perhaps hoped—Daniel had already explained the reason for this visit. Seeing that chore was now all his left Gerald in a quandary over how to go about it. “Do you remember me telling you about Sergeant Coyler? How he saved my life?”
His father was the only person Gerald had ever told the full story about Coyler’s death. The older man’s expression tightened and he nodded.
Gerald continued. “Less than a week ago, his widow and her small son came to my door seeking help. It seems her late husband’s father had started legal proceedings to take her son away from her. She had received a notice to report to a local magistrate’s office to prove she could adequately care for the child. Frightened by the legalities of the situation, she decided to flee to her aunt’s home in Birmingham for assistance. On the train, she realized a man was following her, and in a panic, got off the train in Hemsley and came to ask for my protection.”
Gerald realized he was speaking so fast his father was staring at him in apparent confusion. He forced himself to take a deep breath and exhale fully before going on. “Anyway, I was afraid I could not protect her at my house, so I took her to Firthley Hall. Firthley sent word to Daniel, asking him to look into the matter. It seems the elder Coyler has made a fortune in coal mining and is determined to take the child away from his mother, even going to the extent of destroying the woman’s reputation.
“She is a good woman, I’m sure of that. But she plays the violin with a small dance band in a local tavern and old Coyler is painting that in the worst possible light.”
Gerald paused to take another deep breath. Before he could go on, the bishop raised his hand and said, “This sounds most appalling, son, but if the matter is passing through civil courts, there’s no way I can interfere.”
“I realize that, father, but if Mrs. Coyler could show the court she now has a stable home and no longer needs to work outside of it, that would nullify the grandfather’s claims.”
The bishop frowned thoughtfully, but he waited for Gerald to go on.
“We decided…I decided…I have proposed marriage to the woman, and she has accepted. It’s imperative that the ceremony take place immediately, so I’m here to get a special license and to ask you to conduct the ceremony. “
The bishop’s eyes and his mouth opened widely but then his lips snapped s
hut for he was not a man to make quick judgments about anything, even the foolish actions of his own children. After a tense moment, he asked, “Are you sure this is the best way to handle the situation?”
“Apparently, Coyler is a ruthless man. He and his son had been estranged for a number of years before the son’s death. Can you suggest any other way to protect a woman without wealth or family connections from such a man?”
The bishop was silent for a long moment. Finally, he said, “I realize you must feel a great obligation to this woman and her child, but you will be making a great personal sacrifice by denying yourself the chance to find the woman who will resonate with your heart and soul.”
“Father, many people marry for practical reasons and seem to get along well in life. Ellen is a sweet woman and a devoted mother, and she will be grateful to me for saving her son. Considering how little I now have to offer a woman, I will not be a sacrificial lamb in this situation.”
The bishop’s expression said he had more he wanted to say to his son, but after a long moment of silence, he gave his head a jerk and got to his feet. “I’ll see to getting the paper work started on the license. Then we can discuss the ceremony.”
* * * *
Surprisingly, the hours passed swiftly for Ellen at Bainbridge House. First, she accompanied Lady Angela up to the nursery to see her lively, two-year-old daughter, Retta. The child was totally uninhibited by the presence of a stranger and the devotion between mother and child was readily apparent, even though she obviously spent most of her time with servants. From the nursery, Lady Angela led Ellen to an informal dining room where a “simple” three-course luncheon was served. After lunch, as they were leaving the dining room, Angela asked a casual question about what Ellen would wear to the ceremony, and Ellen gestured toward the black costume she was then wearing. This elicited a gasp of horror from her ladyship.
