by Rose Gordon
She nodded and sat down on the bench, then scooted over for her husband to join her. He flashed a smile at her and she tapped out a note. Then a second. By the fifteenth, all three of her brothers were staring at her with curious expressions.
Laura recognized the tune but couldn't yet place it.
But when the singing started a moment later, she knew.
“To Anace—rrrron in Heavennnnnn; where he sat in full gleeeeeee, a few sons of harmony sent a petitionnnnnn that he—”
Laura didn't know what was more amusing: the awful singing of the brothers or the fact that they were singing a tavern song in the drawing room in front of their wives and mother. Not to mention that their younger sister was the one playing it!
“Voice, fiddddddle and fluuuuuute, no longer be muuuuute,” Alex belted alone.
“I'll lend you my name, and inspire ye to booooot” came Elijah's off-pitched line.
Followed by Henry having his turn at singing—or squeaking—alone with, “And besides I'll instruct you like thee to intwine, the myrtle of venuuuuuus with Baaaaaaaacus' vine..”
The song went on and on, verse after verse, for a total of no less than seven.
“And long may the sons of Anechron intwine, the myyyyyrrrrrrtle of veeenus with Baccus' twine,” they all sang in their deepest voices, finishing out the tune.
Then, the room went silent. The song was finally over.
“Well,” Regina was the first to say anything. “Edwina's playing was beautiful. And just like your father, all three of you sound like injured billy goats when you sing.”
That was it. Laura could hold her mirth no longer, and apparently neither could Caroline and Amelia, for they started laughing, too, spurred on again when Edwina stood and said, “And that's why I asked them to sing while I played; I needed everyone's attention to be on them so not to hear my mistakes.”
“You didn't make any,” her husband said, just loud enough for everyone to hear.
All laughter in the room died. She'd made mistakes. Laura hadn't had any more music lessons than Edwina apparently had growing up; but she'd heard others play enough to know that even through the singing, Edwina had hit a wrong key here and there. But that her husband was so encouraging of her melted Laura's heart.
“Laura, do you know how to play?” Caroline asked.
Laura opened her mouth to say no, but Henry's words came out first. “Of course, she does.” He waved her over. “Come play for us.”
She'd have been mortified and protested that she couldn't if she hadn't caught sight of his secret grin or seen him mouth: trust me. She got off her settee and made her way to where he was standing beside the bench. He helped her sit down and pointed to two keys.
“When I start, just press them both every time I play,” he whispered, his voice falling over her like velvet. He took a seat next to her and spoke loud enough for the room to hear him. “I heard this while we were in New York. It is a duet, so I'll try not to foul up my part too much.” He flashed Laura a quick grin, then started playing.
For her part, Laura hit the keys he'd told her to. When she remembered to, that is. She was amazed at how well he could play. Though the pianoforte was turned in such a way that it concealed their hands, she wasn't any more convinced his family actually believed she was playing than she would have thought Henry could play.
His skillful fingers moved up and down the keyboard. She didn't know why she was so surprised. He had very nimble fingers while undressing her and when he made love to her. She fought to keep the blush off her face.
In the room, Elijah led his wife to the middle of the floor and began to dance. They were soon followed by Alex and Caroline and Edwina and Sir Wallace. Laura quit playing her minor part and scooted closer to Henry.
“You two go on,” Regina said softly, coming up behind them.
Henry's fingers continued to move atop the keys as he looked at his mother who was trying to shoo them away from the pianoforte. He played a final bar and then reached for Laura's hand.
Regina took Henry's spot at the pianoforte and started playing a waltz.
She played another and another as the contented couples danced around the drawing room.
When the clock struck eight, she played one final note.
The siblings each said their goodnights and well wishes, leaving Laura with a hint of sadness. For she'd never experienced a family as loving as this.
Outside of the drawing room, Henry swept her up off her feet and carried her to their cottage. He set her down just long enough to light a single candle and hand it to her. Then he scooped her back up and carried her up the stairs to their room, where he tried to set her on their bed, only to be stopped by something hard in the middle of the mattress.
“What the devil,” he said, setting her feet on the floor. He took the candle from her and lit a few more, creating a low glow in the room.
In unison, their eyes fell on the large wooden crate in the middle of the bed.
Henry groaned.
Laura ignored him and walked over to the crate. She jumped almost a foot in the air when her eyes saw what was inside: a large, hairy spider.
“It's all right,” Henry murmured. “There's glass over the top. He can't get out. And if he does, don't panic. He's just as scared of you, as you are of him.”
That did nothing for her nerves and she shuddered. “And just when did this fellow confide that fact in you?”
Henry chuckled. “He didn't. I've just seen him out of his crate. You wouldn't believe how fast he'll run and hide.”
She shuddered again. Likely he'd hide under the bed or in the wardrobe or somewhere equally unpleasant. “What is he doing here?”
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and reached for the folded paper next to the crate. He unfolded it.
Please accept our regrets for missing your wedding and accept this as our wedding gift to you.
Yrs,
Elijah & Amelia
“They consider this a wedding present?” Laura said bluntly.
“No,” Henry said, as if he were distracted, which he probably was as a result of the small line of text scrolled at the bottom of the note. She wasn't good with foreign languages, but she knew enough to determine that the one who'd written the message had written it in some sort of code so she couldn't decipher it.
Every one of her muscles locked with tension.
Henry dropped the note and reached for the crate. He lifted it up off the bed and carried it over to the wide ledge along the far window. “Amelia has been pressing Elijah to get rid of Mr. Henry Hirsute ever since they married. He asked me to take him, but I declined. If I had to guess, she's the one behind this lovely matrimonial gift.” He came back over to her. “Not to worry, we'll find a way to give it back to them.” He gave her another kiss, this time on the lips. “But for now, I need to go find out what my brother considers such urgent business that he needs to discuss it now. I'll be back soon. And when I come back—” he swept her with his gaze— “we'll continue where we left off in the orchard.”
~Chapter Thirty-One~
“What's so important it cannot wait for tomorrow?” Henry asked, crossing his arms.
Elijah frowned. “What a fine greeting that was.”
Henry stared at him. When had Elijah become so dratted annoying?
Elijah chuckled. “I wondered the same about you shortly after I was married. It changes things, doesn't it?”
“That it does,” Henry agreed, falling into a nearby chair. “I'd much rather be alone in a room with her right now than with you.”
A shadow crossed his brother's face and in his eyes was hesitation. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”
“Laura, her name is Laura, not that,” Henry said defensively. It would seem everyone she'd known before had been dismissive of or demeaning to her, and he would not stand for it from his own brother.
“I'm sorry,” Elijah said. “That wasn't how I meant it. I wasn't referring to your wife—�
�� He closed his mouth and ran his hand through his hair. “What I'd meant was I wanted to talk to you about my betrothal to Laura.”
Henry lifted his brow.
Elijah drummed his fingers along the tall back of the chair closest to him. “Has she told you anything?”
“Other than that you signed a betrothal agreement with her? No.”
Elijah nodded. “That was a foolish oversight.”
Henry crossed his arms defensively. “Be careful how you speak of her; she is my wife now.”
“Yes, and I'm very sorry about that.”
“Excuse me?”
Elijah took a deep breath. “I don't know how to tell you this, but your wife isn't what you think.”
“Oh, she isn't, is she?” Henry brought his right ankle up and rested it on his left knee.
“No, she's not.”
“I do believe you're wrong,” Henry said coolly. “I think she's not what you think she is.”
Elijah pressed his lips together and bored his eyes into Henry's.
“While you might have found her unexciting and easy to forget, thus leading you to be a cad and blatantly break your promise to her, I find her to be genuine and enchanting, if not a bit apprehensive and withdrawn at times.” Which he was certain was shaped solely by her former life. Hopefully soon enough all of that would be forgotten and she'd feel comfortable being who she was.
“You're wrong.”
Elijah's words ripped Henry straight from his thoughts. “Wrong?”
“Wrong,” Elijah said with a stiff nod. “She's nothing but a schemer of the worst sort.”
“A schemer?” Henry scoffed. “Laura doesn't have a scheming bone in her body.”
“Yes, she does,” Elijah argued. “It's right next to her jealousy bone and attached to her conniving bone, all of which flow with the marrow of hatred and revenge.”
“While I admit that Laura has much to be jealous of, she is not conniving, and I'd advise you to choose your words more carefully when speaking of my wife.”
“No,” Elijah burst out. “You need to hear this, Henry. You're playing right into her trap.”
“What trap?” Henry burst out. “Is that how you're referring to my marriage because you signed and then reneged on a marriage contract? Then yes, I was snared, but I'd hardly call her coming here to enforce the contract, as simple as it might be, a conniving trap. She felt she was owed—which she was,” he added, sharpening his gaze on his brother. “I might not have been happy that you weren't here to deal with the consequences of your careless actions, but it all worked out in the end.”
“Oh, it hasn't ended,” Elijah muttered. “It's only just begun.”
“Elijah, what are you talking about?” Henry nearly cringed at the annoyance that filled his voice. For years, he'd trained himself to speak in a way that gave nothing away of how he felt; and one simple conversation with his pesky brother and he was reduced to an inarticulate green lad incapable of keeping his thoughts and emotions hidden.
“Laura, she's not what you think.” He held his hand up to stop Henry from arguing with him again. “I know what you think you know about her, and I'll admit when I first met her, I didn't think she was capable of such deceit. She's that one in ten thousand, I'm afraid.”
Henry penetrated his brother with his stare. When they were training to be Agents of the Crown, they were always warned about that rare person, the one who could fool you. The one who was pure evil all the way to the core and could deceive so well, that they'd never get caught. But Elijah was wrong. Laura was certainly one in ten thousand, but not that ten thousand. He was sure of it.
“Did you ask her about the betrothal agreement?”
“No. She presented it. I saw you'd signed it and left it at that. I know your pen, Elijah. She didn't forge that.”
“No, she didn't,” Elijah allowed. “But she did blackmail me to sign it.”
“Excuse me? She, a little slip of a woman who couldn't possibly weigh more than six and a half stones, was able to blackmail you?” He shook his head. “If, and that's a strong if, that is true, then I have some serious concerns about your ability to work for the crown for so long.”
Elijah shrugged him off. “Be concerned all you like. She's that one in ten thousand. It's only logical that she pulled one over on me.” He scowled. “But that's not the point. You can ask her about her blackmailing later. That isn't the worst of it.”
Henry sighed. “So you keep saying, and yet, you haven't told me anything that supports your claim.” Frankly, he could believe and accept that Laura had done something underhanded to get Elijah to sign the papers. She'd had a rotten marriage the first time and was living off the generosity of her in-laws. Desperation might have forced her hand. Just what she'd used to blackmail Elijah with, he was rather interested in learning— “Damn,” he muttered. He already knew she'd learned it when she'd admitted to reading the letter they'd received about their father. She must have learned of his nationality right along with their surname and used that as a bargaining chip. He should have known that, of course, but he'd just assumed that if Elijah fancied her enough to sign the agreement in the first place, he'd have trusted her enough to tell her which country they hailed from. He inwardly shrugged and a small measure of pride on her behalf soared inside of him. She hadn't done anything he wouldn't have done were he her and he was rather proud she'd had the gumption to do such—
“She's here to seek revenge on Madison.”
“I'm sorry, what?” Henry said, narrowing his eyes.
Elijah ran his hands over his thighs. “That's why she wanted that marriage contract. She wanted a reason to ensure she would get a chance to see her again.”
“Elijah, that makes absolutely no sense. A marriage contract does not guarantee that she'll see Madison; furthermore, why would she want revenge on Madison? She couldn't possibly have an enemy. Now, Liberty...”
“No, it's Madison. I'm sure of it.” Elijah scratched the hair on his temple. “Apparently, Laura's first husband, Robbie Swift, felt the same way we all do about Madison and wanted to pursue her while married to Laura. So much so, that he left New York to follow her.”
“You're wrong.”
“I wish that I were,” Elijah said softly. “But I have proof.” He dug into his pocket and removed a thin stack of papers, then handed them to Henry.
Henry thumbed through them, his heart aching more with each paper he scanned. Accounts of witnesses who'd lived in Brooklyn who knew that Robbie Swift had been courting Madison Banks, with the assumed intent to marry her. Accounts of those who'd claimed to have been close confidants of Laura's while she was still married who knew there was a bitter relationship between Laura and Madison, presumably because Mr. Swift still longed for Madison. “Where did you get these?” he asked hollowly.
“Following Father's death, I went to see Mr. Robinson. I explained the situation and requested an investigation be done concerning her. He thought it was prudent since she knew my identity. At the time, I had resigned myself to the fact I'd have to marry her. I knew her former husband was depraved and her living conditions were less than ideal. So, like you, I just assumed she'd been looking for an opportunity to remarry and save herself from the hell she was living in with her in-laws. Though, I didn't like the idea overmuch, I could have accepted it. But after reading all of those accounts of those who knew them best, I didn't feel any need to go back and claim my bride.” He sighed. “That wasn't very well done of me, I know; but I didn't think she'd actually come across the ocean to find me. I thought she'd realize I wasn't coming back and give up her foolish notion or trap some other poor soul into marriage.”
“Just because they didn't get along, doesn't mean she wanted revenge,” Henry said, wincing at the way his voice lacked the conviction he'd felt only minutes before.
Elijah gave him a dubious expression. “Doesn't it? If your wife was cuckolding you and making a mockery of you every night and talking about how you weren't the one she'd
wanted to marry, wouldn't you have a kernel of hatred for the one she did love?”
Yes. Especially if I, like Laura, was still hoping one day that she'd love me the way she'd pretended to before the wedding. Henry sighed. “You're assuming that Mr. Swift was sleeping with Madison, which I don't believe to be true. I might not know her very well, but I don't believe for one second that she'd share the bed of a married man.”
“I never said she was,” Elijah argued. “I'm just saying that in a general sense, we know Laura's first husband was not faithful to her and his affections lay with Madison. Whether he was sharing Madison's bed or not is immaterial. Laura already knew he wasn't capable of keeping his prick in his trousers and that had to sting, but to also know who he really wanted as a wife and be compared to her at every turn, I think would cut deeper.”
Yes, it would. Henry swallowed the lump of emotion in his throat. There was much to be jealous of where Madison was concerned. No one could deny she was beautiful. Laura was, too, of course, but perhaps that was only to him. Even after having three children, Madison could walk into a room and demand the attention of all gentlemen, single and married alike. Laura walked into the room and the only one who took notice was him.
“You really think she wants revenge?”
“Yes,” Elijah said without hesitation. “Nobody, particularly a lady, would travel all this way and insist on marriage, then accept it to another brother, when the one who'd signed the contract wasn't able to fulfill his obligation, without some sort of an ulterior motive.”
Henry's gut sank to his toes. Elijah was right. Nobody who was rational acted that way. So many things now made sense: her not-so-subtle hints about them getting married and skipping the courtship; her easy acceptance of his offering to marry her even though she knew he wasn't Elijah; the way she'd become uncomfortable yesterday when he'd mentioned Madison; and even the few times she'd asked if his whole family was going to be in attendance at some event. His body went numb.
