The Marriage Truce

by Ann Elizabeth Cree

‘So you invited me to a nearly dark garden with a desire to be private. My dear Sarah, that is an exceedingly dangerous proposal to make to a man.’

  ‘Even if you are my husband?’ she asked innocently.

  His gaze narrowed for a moment. ‘Yes. Even then.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because it may lead to certain consequences.’

  ‘Really? Such as what?’ From his expression she feared one of them was strangling.

  He leaned towards her, his hand carelessly brushing her cheek. ‘You are playing a game, are you not? Not just with me, but with all the others tonight. Why? To make Kenton jealous?’

  She stared at him and then shoved his hand away. She leaped up. ‘How…how can you say such a despicable thing? Or think such a thing of me? He is a friend, but I…I would never….’ She fought for control. ‘If you will excuse me, my lord.’ She whirled on her heel.

  He rose in a single movement and caught her hand. ‘Sarah! Wait!’

  ‘What?’ She looked up at him, angry tears in her eyes. ‘Please release me! I have no desire to hear you insult me more.’

  All traces of mockery were gone. ‘Sarah, I am sorry.’

  ‘I know that you have no great liking for me, but must you accuse me of unfaithfulness? Do you think I would do that to you?’

  ‘No.’ He dropped her arm and stood looking at her. His expression slowly changed. ‘No, you would not.’

  She looked away. ‘I think I would like to return to the house after all.’

  ‘Let me take you. It is getting dark.’

  ‘No, I would prefer to walk on my own.’ She whirled on her heel and marched towards the house. She heard him behind her, but refused to look back.

  She entered the drawing room where card tables had already been set up. Several of the guests had sat down to play. She saw Caroline in one corner, Blanton with her. Caroline looked rather desperate, a feeling Sarah knew all too well when dealing with Blanton. Sarah crossed the room, deciding, for tonight at least, she would rather face Blanton than her infuriating husband.

  ‘Good evening Caroline, Mr Blanton,’ she said.

  An expression of distaste crossed his face before he bowed. He stepped away from her as if he feared she had a cat concealed on her person. ‘Lady Huntington.’

  Sarah smiled at Caroline. ‘Perhaps you’d care to take a turn around the room with me. I’ve not had a chance to talk with you.’

  ‘I…yes, I would.’ Caroline gave Blanton a polite smile. ‘If you will excuse me.’

  ‘Of course. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at the picnic, Miss Kenton.’

  ‘Oh, yes.’ She looked quite relieved to take Sarah’s arm. Once they were out of earshot, she leaned towards Sarah and whispered, ‘Thank you so much. I had no idea how to escape him. I really cannot quite like him, but perhaps I am unreasonable.’

  ‘No, you are not. He is not a very proper person.’ She only hoped Caroline would not ask her why she said so. She very much hoped he had not set his sights on Caroline.

  She heaved a sigh, and prayed this truly horrible night would soon end.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The next morning dawned sunny and warm, quite perfect for an outing. The prospect of a picnic did nothing for Sarah’s sour mood. She’d slept little and the last thing she wanted was to spend time near her husband.

  She was relieved to see no sign of him as she seated herself in the landau across from Amelia. Amelia’s gaze took in Sarah’s expression and her own changed to sympathy. ‘Don’t look so distressed. I am certain everything will work out in time.’

  ‘Only if I never speak to him again,’ Sarah snapped. She had poured out the details of last night’s disaster into Amelia’s sympathetic ears. But not even Amelia’s assurances that he was only showing a very promising jealousy had soothed the hurt and anger she’d felt at his words.

  Amelia started to say something and then a peculiar expression crossed her face. ‘I am afraid that will not happen. He is coming now.’

  Sarah quelled the urge to duck. ‘Really.’ Instead, she stared straight ahead, intending to ignore him.

  Dev stopped next to her. ‘Good morning, Lady Marleigh.’

  Amelia smiled. ‘Good day. Are you perhaps planning to join our party?’

  ‘Yes.’ He turned, and Sarah was quite aware his eyes were on her face. ‘If my wife will permit me.’

  She tightened her hands and looked pointedly at a spot over Amelia’s shoulder. ‘You may do as you please, my lord.’

  ‘May I? Then perhaps you will not object if I sit next to you.’

  Sarah looked at him then. ‘If you must know, I do object.’

  ‘You may sit next to me, however,’ Amelia said with a mischievous smile.

  Sarah shot her cousin a speaking glance, which Amelia ignored. Sarah turned her head away, determined not to pay the least heed to him. To her great dismay, he sprang into the carriage directly across from her. She pointedly shifted her position so she was across from Amelia. She had no intention of having his long legs anywhere near hers.

  Jessica and Adam rode up next to them. Jessica cocked a brow at her brother. ‘You have decided not to ride today?’

  ‘No, I thought I would prefer the carriage.’ His gaze rested on Sarah’s face and, in spite of her desire to remain unaffected, she felt colour rise to her cheeks.

  Jessica grinned. ‘A splendid idea.’

  A loud meow distracted them. In one graceful movement, Merlin sprang up beside Sarah. He rubbed against her cheek and then settled next to her, folding his paws under him.

  ‘Sarah’s chaperon, I take it,’ Adam said. ‘Are you planning to bring him or does he run off?’

  ‘I suppose we could bring him,’ Sarah said. He looked quite settled as if a ride in a carriage was an everyday occurrence. ‘He likes carriage rides. If he looks as if he wants to jump out, we can bring him back.’

  ‘Or put him in a picnic basket,’ Dev said.

  She directed an icy frown at him, forgetting she had vowed not to look at him. He merely grinned, which made her feel even more cross.

  Dev gave the coachman the signal to start and they were off, Adam and Jessica riding alongside. Sarah stared resolutely at the scenery, allowing the conversation to be carried by the others. She was undoubtedly behaving childishly, but the hurt was still too fresh. And after last night she had no idea why he was in such a good mood or why he kept staring at her in such an annoying fashion.

  Her temper hardly improved by the time they reached the tower. The party from Kentwood was already there. Dev helped Amelia out and then held his hand out to Sarah.

  She looked down her nose at him. ‘I am perfectly capable of alighting on my own,’ she said coldly.

  He looked up at her, a little smile touching his mouth. ‘I’ve no doubt of that. But I wish to help you.’

  ‘I would prefer you did not.’

  ‘Then I shall stand here until you change your mind.’

  ‘We will look ridiculous.’ She looked quickly over at the others who paid them little heed at the moment. Amelia had already gone over to speak to Mrs Kenton. ‘Besides, I wish to stay with Merlin so he does not run away.’

  ‘I am sure Samuels can handle him.’ He nodded towards the groom.

  Samuels sprang forward. ‘Most certainly, my lady.’

  Very well,’ she said ungraciously. She gave him her hand and stepped down, attempting to make as little contact with him as possible.

  He did not release her hand and she was forced to yank it out of his grasp. ‘Perhaps we should join the others, my lord.’

  ‘Not yet.’ He stepped around in front of her. ‘Come and walk with me first.’

  She folded her arms and glared at him. ‘I don’t want to.’

  ‘Probably not. However, if you don’t I will be forced to carry you off.’

  She gasped. ‘You wouldn’t dare.’

  ‘But I would.’ His eyes held hers in a distinct challenge.

  �
��That is hardly fair.’

  ‘No. But I don’t wish to play fair at the moment.’ He held out his hand. ‘There’s a place by the stream where we can talk.’

  She refused his hand. ‘As you wish.’ She stalked past him, chin raised.

  He easily caught up to her and took her arm. ‘You are going in the wrong direction. You’ll end up in the sheep pasture.’ His voice held a hint of laughter.

  ‘I like sheep,’ she said coolly. So now he was laughing at her. She quelled the very strong and most unlady-like urge to hit him.

  He took her to a small grassy patch near the stream and released her arm and turned to face her. All laughter had left his face.

  Sarah forced herself to look at him. There was something in his still posture that made her defiance seem unnecessary. However, she gave him a cool stare. ‘More games, my lord?’

  ‘No,’ he said quietly. He looked away for a moment and then back at her. ‘I regretted the words I said to you last night more than any words I have spoken in my life. I can offer no excuse, except that I envy your friendship with Kenton.’

  Sarah glanced at him. ‘Why?’

  He shrugged. ‘I suppose because I would like the same sort of easy conversation with you, would like your same high regard.’

  Astonished, she stared at him. ‘But you have my regard.’

  He gave a short laugh. ‘There is no need to spare my feelings. I have coerced you, insulted you, ridden roughshod over you in every possible way since that night at Henslowe Hall. I nearly caused your death. And long before that, I gravely wounded your brother in a duel. I’ve no reason to expect you to look upon me with anything but contempt.’

  ‘But I do not!’ She was astounded he could be so mistaken about her feelings. ‘I have never held you in contempt. How could I, when it was my own brother who committed such a wrongful act against you? He had no right to take another man’s wife.’

  He looked away. ‘But he did not.’

  She looked at him, not understanding. He stared out at the stream. ‘Mary intended to go to her old nurse. She made it as far as an inn in Yorkshire before becoming ill with influenza. The innkeeper and his wife took her in. As she became more ill they insisted she must have someone they could send for. And she named your brother.’ His voice was flat, but when he looked back at Sarah, she saw the raw pain in his eyes. ‘There was something else, you see. She was pregnant with your brother’s child.’

  She did not dare move as much as she wanted to go to him, take his pain within herself. She waited, very still, for him to continue.

  ‘I did not discover that until I finally traced her to the inn. She asked for an annulment the day after the wedding. I refused, of course. I had no idea what was wrong, why she should suddenly change her mind. I thought perhaps her father’s death had caused some sort of collapse. She asked again, a week later. I, of course, said no. And so, desperate, she fled. I drove her to her death.’

  His face was bleak, the wound to his soul still raw. Sarah moved then, and laid her hand on his sleeve. ‘No, you did not. It is odd—Nicholas, Lady Coleridge, you, me—we all blame ourselves for her death.’

  He looked down at her, and his mouth twisted. ‘You as well? I’ve no idea why.’

  ‘I invited her to stay with me. Do you remember? It was after your betrothal ball. But Mama was very ill and I could not often leave her side. So I sent Nicholas and Mary out together. I never thought anything, except it was nice my brother and my dearest friend got along so well. And now I wished I had not been so stupid, that perhaps if I had not invited her, she would be alive.’

  ‘You are not omniscient. You could not foresee what would happen between them.’

  Her hand tightened on his arm. ‘No. And you are not omniscient either. You did not know that Mary carried such a secret with her. Lady Coleridge did not know either.’

  ‘No.’ He pulled his arm away and turned, looking out at the gurgling water. ‘But I must have given her such a fear of me that she could not bring herself to tell me. And, in truth, I cannot fault her. My damnable temper…I swear I never laid a hand on her, but I said things that should not have been said.’

  ‘Dev…’

  ‘That’s not the worst of it. I tried to force her into my bed.’

  This time she took his hand, hardly knowing what to say. She could imagine the growing bewilderment and frustration of a husband with a new bride who did not want to be a wife, and the shame that Mary must have felt when she realised she carried another man’s child. And Sarah knew that was why she had left.

  Her fingers tightened around his. ‘No. You did not drive her away. I think,’ she said slowly, ‘that Mary left because she could not bear to face you or her family. She would not have wanted you to raise another man’s child as yours. She could not be your wife when she had already given herself to another man. She would have deplored the deceit above all else.’ She glanced up at him. ‘She never blamed you, even Nicholas admitted as much. It was her own guilt that drove her away. I think now she must have sent for Nicholas because of the baby. She would have wanted him to know.’

  His head was bowed. She waited in silence. He finally lifted his head and when he looked at her she saw the tears. ‘Sarah—’ he began.

  ‘Don’t.’ She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her as tightly as she could with one bandaged hand, and buried her face in his chest. He hesitated for a moment and then he crushed her hard against him, his face in her hair.

  They stayed that way for an eternity with the soft babble of the stream and the songs of the birds mixing with the strong beat of his heart under her ear. It was only when something pressed against her legs and mewed that he slowly released her.

  ‘Your chaperon is hinting we should return to the others.’ His eyes were on her face.

  ‘Yes. Are you all right?’

  ‘Yes…no.’ He gave a shaky laugh. ‘I think I will be.’ His expression sobered. ‘I’ve no idea what to do next.’

  ‘About what?’ she asked.

  He made a helpless gesture. ‘About you. And me.’

  ‘Perhaps we could be friends,’ she suggested tentatively.

  ‘Friends? Is that what you wish?’ For a moment, he looked almost disappointed.

  ‘It might be a start.’

  ‘Yes.’ His mouth lifted in a ghost of a smile. ‘It might be.’ He held out his hand. ‘Shall we return to the others? They probably think I’ve abducted you.’

  ‘Yes.’ She placed her hand in his and, with Merlin at her heels, they walked towards the tower.

  Caroline rose to her feet. ‘If I sit much longer, I will fall asleep. I need a walk. Does anyone wish to join me?’

  They had finished the lavish meal and were seated under a spreading tree on a blanket. The men had wandered off to look at the stream and several of the women had gone to sit in the tower garden.

  ‘A walk sounds splendid,’ Jessica said. ‘Sarah?’ She stood and glanced down at Sarah.

  ‘I think I will stay here,’ Sarah said. She felt tired, not only from her poor sleep last night, but from the conversation with Dev by the stream. She had not yet thought much about it, preferring to let her thoughts and emotions rest. For the first time, she had hope that they might have a friendship, but at the moment she shied away from thinking of the possible implications.

  She stroked Merlin, who sat beside her, and idly watched the others. Amazingly enough the cat had not run off, but seemed content either to follow the groom around to whom he’d taken a liking or to sit with Sarah. At least it had kept Blanton from joining the ladies on the grass after the meal. He had instead gone off with the men.

  She glanced around. Amelia was engaged in conversation with Lady Townsley and Penelope Kenton. She frowned a little when she saw Blanton had returned and managed to corner Caroline again. He’d spent most of the outing trailing her around. Sarah had the uneasy feeling he had targeted Caroline as the next object of his affection. What if he decided to compromis
e Caroline just as he had tried to do with her?

  She slowly stood, Merlin in her arms. As large as he was, she could still carry him if she avoided supporting much of his weight on her wrist. She walked purposefully to Caroline. ‘Good day, Mr Blanton.’

  He turned. A look of revulsion crossed his face when he spotted the cat. Sarah smiled. ‘Would you like to pet him?’

  He backed away. ‘No, I quite detest cats.’

  ‘I adore them,’ Caroline said.

  ‘Then would you hold Merlin for me? I…I must find Dev, and I don’t want him to run off. And Jessica is looking for you.’ At least she could rid Caroline of him for a few minutes.

  ‘Certainly.’ Caroline took the cat who snuggled in her arms and fixed Blanton with an unblinking yellow stare. She gave Blanton a polite smile. ‘If you will excuse me, Mr Blanton.’

  ‘Of course.’ He bowed a little, his expression genial, but when he looked at Sarah, the fury in his face made her recoil.

  She left Caroline and Merlin with Jessica and then wandered towards the stream. She leaned against a tree and tried to decide what she should do about Blanton.

  Should she talk to Charles? But then he would want to know why she had such a dislike of Blanton. And she had no desire to seek out Charles for a private talk. Not with the very tentative truce between herself and her husband. But she could talk to Dev and he could drop a hint in Charles’s ear.

  ‘Hiding?’

  She gasped. Dev stood behind her as if conjured up by her thoughts. ‘Can you not announce your presence?’ she demanded.

  A brief grin crossed his face. ‘I just did. What are you doing here alone?’

  ‘Thinking. Although I had just made up my mind that I wanted to speak with you.’

  ‘An amazing coincidence. I had wanted you for the same purpose. Will you walk with me?’ He smiled and for the first time she had a sudden glimpse of the charming young man that had been Mary’s fiancé.

  She caught her breath. ‘Yes, I…I would like that.’

  He held out his hand. She placed hers in it and his strong fingers curled around hers. ‘Shall we visit the tower or the stream again?’ he asked.