She saw him settled in the drawing room and then flew back to the Library and the attic. Jessamy had indeed gone, but had left the box of parts and tools neatly in the corner. She turned over the half-finished Device in her hands, hesitated, then set it in the box. She decided never to tell Ben he’d almost come second to a piece of Devisery.
When she returned, he was gone. Julia sat demurely in one corner, doing her needlework, with Emma Telaine chewing on a soft stuffed toy at her feet. The baby sat up when she saw Telaine and reached out her chubby arms, burbling a welcome.
“Where did he go?” Telaine demanded. Julia tied a knot and bit off the loose end.
“To whom are you referring? Oh, the blacksmith? He went off with Father to his study. I expect he’s being thoroughly interrogated as to his intentions. I ought to tell Father you were planning to have sex just minutes ago—no, don’t, I have a needle!”
She held up her embroidery hoop as if it were a shield, laughing. Then she lowered it, her eyes shining, and said, “I am so happy to see you so happy, my dear. It is what you wanted, isn’t it? I didn’t overstep by throwing you together?”
“You did exactly right, coz,” Telaine said, kneeling next to her chair and brushing the soft toy across the baby’s face, making her giggle. “And I am wonderfully happy.”
“I was going to make him suffer,” Julia said. “But it was obvious after only a few minutes that he was already suffering quite a lot. So I knew if you’d talk to each other, you could work things out. I do like him. He’s very quiet, isn’t he? Or maybe that’s him being out of his element.” She put away her embroidery and picked up Emma Telaine. “I hope we don’t all overwhelm him at dinner. I wasn’t thinking about how loud we can all be.”
“I think he can hold his own.” I hope he can hold his own.
“Well, if you need me to sit on any of my more exuberant siblings, give me a nod.”
“I think sitting on your brothers at the table would be a bad idea,” Uncle said, entering the room. Ben trailed a few steps behind him, looking solemn. “Hard on the digestion.”
“You know Mark won’t stop talking about guns unless someone muzzles him, Father,” Julia said.
“That’s true. Come here, niece.” Uncle put his arm around Telaine’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “I’ve had an enlightening talk with Mister Garrett, and you’ll probably want to discuss it with him. Why don’t you take a walk in the garden before dinner? You have a few minutes.”
It sounded like a suggestion, but Telaine could tell when her uncle was serious. “All right,” she said, and took Ben’s hand.
Despite what Uncle had said, Telaine was content to walk in silence with Ben through the royal family’s private garden. The roses were blooming, great sweeps of red and pink and gold, and they filled the air with a sweet, tangy scent Telaine wished she could bottle and carry with her, to open some winter day when the snow fell. Finally, Ben said, “Lainie.”
“Yes?”
“You set me some conditions, last Wintersmeet. Do you have any other secrets you haven’t told me?”
“Well, I’m the heir to a Veriboldan fortune and my mother was a harem—all right, stop tickling me! You know all my secrets now.”
“That’s good. Let’s sit down.”
They sat on a marble bench big enough for two in the shade of an elm tree. It was cool and smooth, and Telaine ran her free hand along its surface before Ben took her hand in his.
“Lainie,” he said, “I know we’re not the same people we were at Wintersmeet. But I certain sure still want what I wanted then. Your uncle’s given me his permission, so…will you marry me?”
Telaine smiled and touched his cheek. “I will,” she said, “but on one condition.”
“Never mentioned conditions before, Lainie. You trying to back out?”
She laughed. “No. Just…promise to take me home.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
They held the wedding on Midsummer Day, in the Library under the giant chandelier. Telaine paid Ellen a vast sum of money to turn out spheres enough that she and Jessamy were able to finish the Device in only four days. Grandmama’s eyes when she saw it descending from the ceiling made the long hours, and Telaine’s resulting separation from Ben, seem like no burden at all.
He gave her the ring he’d made for her. She gave him her father’s ring, a battered circle of white gold Ben had resized during the hours they were apart. She saw her uncle’s tears fall as she slid the ring onto Ben’s finger and swore to be the strength to his weakness, all the days of her life, and knew he felt Owen Hunter and Elspeth North’s presence as deeply as she did.
There were tears from every member of the North family when the King uttered the words, “Telaine North Hunter, do you of your own free will relinquish all claim to the North name and to the Crown of Tremontane, to take the name of Garrett to yourself and to your children?”
She had insisted on it. She loved her family, she assured them, and she would always be niece and cousin to them, but she would never be able to truly be part of Longbourne if she still had one foot in her old world. But her tears only came when she saw the look on her uncle’s face that said she no longer registered with his magical senses. She closed her eyes and prayed to heaven she’d made the right decision.
They spent their wedding night in her bedroom, and this time they didn’t have to stop.
Two days later they began the journey back to Longbourne in their own hired coach, an extravagance Ben protested until Telaine pointed out that they were bringing back all of her new household fittings and she didn’t want anyone else breaking her dishes until she had the chance. She bought plain, simple things, linens and earthenware dishes and stainless steel flatware (sensible, really, not an extravagance), two fluffy pillows and a thick quilt for those long winter nights. New clothes, furniture, curtains and the like would wait until she could buy them at home. Thinking the words made her smile.
In the darkness, that first night, she’d curled up against his side and whispered, “Are you sure they want me there?”
“I told you, everyone else forgave you long before I did. You should have heard them. The Andersons, telling everyone who’d listen that no one needed to hide their identity so deep they’d rescue a girl not even related to them and nearly get killed doing it. Jack Taylor playing with his watch so I had to remember you couldn’t lie about being a Deviser. Then, Mistress Weaver—”
“What did she tell you all about me?”
“Just that the King made her take you in because she’s your father’s half-sister. She got plenty of criticism for that, more when we remembered Owen Hunter was from Ruskald, but mostly people wouldn’t say things to her face. There’s something about her makes people step quiet because they don’t want to be on her bad side. Never seen anyone with that kind of power until I met the King.”
“So what else did she say?” Better to cut that line of thought off before it went too far.
Ben put his other arm around her and hugged her close. “She asked how my throat was. Said a little cut like that would have healed right away. Didn’t know what she meant at first—I’d completely forgotten about Morgan what with everything else that happened that day. Then I remembered how agonized you’d looked, just before you threw that knife. How when he was dead you didn’t look guilty or elated, you looked relieved, like you’d prevented the worst thing you could imagine from happening. Then I knew no one was that good a liar.”
“And then you came for me.”
“I almost didn’t. Kept going back and forth all those weeks between despair and hope. So I started telling folks I was going to the city to get my wife, hoping maybe that would make it come true. Though I nearly gave up when you came through that door like you were looking for revenge. Right then I thought I’d be going back to Longbourne alone, and heaven knows what I would have told everyone then. Good thing for me you said yes.” Telaine laughed.
“But that was before I saw this place,
” he added. He turned on his good side to face her, not that she could see him as anything more than a slightly darker shape against the gray background. “You sure you want to go back? I never realized how much of a shock Longbourne must’ve been, those first weeks. This is a lot to leave behind. Never felt such a soft bed in all my days.”
She trailed her fingers down his chest and lower, making him sigh with pleasure. “I’ll miss my family,” she said, “and there are some other things I will miss, mostly hot baths and indoor toilets. But I have never felt more like myself than when I was up on that mountain. Besides,” she smiled, and did something else with her hands that made him groan, “this we can do anywhere.”
It turned out she did have one more secret that made Ben sit down on a bench outside the bank to regain his composure. “You have how much?” he exclaimed hoarsely.
“I have my mother’s entire fortune,” she said. “There was something unusual about how she came by it no one’s ever explained to me, but it’s all mine, free and clear without regard to the North family. Then I’ll have a portion of Grandmama’s estate when she dies many, many years from now, and that should be quite a lot. Grandmama’s good with finances. And I don’t want you to say anything about not taking my money, because it was our money the moment you put this ring on my finger. We’re not going to live on it, but it will be there if we need it. Or if our children do. And I’m going to use some of it to start our life together. So let me know if you need a new anvil or something, though I don’t know how we’d get it on the coach.”
He raised his head and gave her that level gaze, then he laughed and laughed until passersby began to look at them both with nervousness, as if hilarity might be catching.
They made the journey in short, easy stages, to ease the burden on Ben’s leg as much as to enjoy their wedding trip. After the first few days, in which they told each other every detail of the time they’d spent apart and Telaine told Ben as much as she could about her life as an agent, they traveled mostly in silence, hands clasped, her head on Ben’s shoulder, watching Tremontane pass their coach window. Telaine saw the mountains draw closer, and thought, Soon, now.
It was not Abel Roberts’ day to come down the mountain, but they had enough baggage they had to hire their own wagon anyway. They sat atop the quilt, which was bundled over crates of kitchenware, and bounced back and forth all the way up the trail. Ben started to look white around the lips about halfway there, and Telaine thought he would need to lie down as soon as possible.
This prompted another thought, and she said, “We never did do anything about that bigger bed.”
He smiled at her, though it was clear he was still in pain. “Not a problem,” he said. Then he frowned, and added, “Shouldn’t be a problem. Guess I could’ve been clearer with Harkins.” Adam Harkins was Longbourne’s carpenter.
“Ben Garrett, you sly old thing. What under heaven were you going to do if I said no?”
“Happen I’d change my name and move somewhere far away. Maybe Eskandel. But I figured, you did promise to say yes the next time I asked.” His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Isn’t there anything I can do to help?”
He shook his head. “Just have to…ride it out.” He leaned his head on her shoulder. “Talk to me,” he said. “Take my mind off it.” She told him stories of her family until the wagon came out of the mouth of the pass and they made the gentle curving ascent to Longbourne.
They drew surprisingly little attention on their way into town. Telaine was preoccupied with Ben’s condition and didn’t quite know when people started calling out greetings, but a child’s piping voice broke through her distraction.
“Lainie, Lainie, you came back!” shouted Hope, running dangerously close to the wagon wheels. “Lainie, why did you go away? My doll stopped working again and you need to fix her!”
“Hope, get away from the wheels,” Telaine said.
“Hope!” Eleanor appeared out of nowhere and snatched the girl away from danger. She looked up at the wagon as it came to a stop in front of the forge. “Lainie,” she said. “Come down here, Mistress Garrett.”
Telaine leaped down and embraced her dear friend, both of them in tears. “I’m so sorry about Liam and Trey and the baby,” Telaine whispered.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t a better friend to you,” Eleanor whispered back.
“Don’t mean to sound like an old man, but I think I could use some help getting down,” Ben called. Telaine wiped her eyes and went to help, but was clasped about the waist and lifted to one side by Jack Taylor, who gave her a kiss on the cheek before helping her husband off the wagon. “Always nice to see a pretty girl come to town, even if she is married to someone else,” he said with a wink. Ben came to Telaine’s side, limping, and pretended to shove Jack away.
“I guess they took you seriously when you said you’d be bringing your wife back,” Telaine said in a low voice. Greetings and congratulations were coming in from all sides now, and Telaine laughed in joy and relief at the welcome.
Ben put his arm around her, lifted his head and let out that pure, beautiful note she’d heard the night of Trey and Blythe’s wedding. The crowd added their voices to harmonize with his, leaving Telaine wondering if she would now be expected to join in. She was about as musical as a frog.
The chord ended. “Thanks for the welcome,” Ben said, pitching his voice to carry over what little noise remained. “Mistress Garrett—” A few voices cheered, and Telaine blushed—“Mistress Garrett and I are happy to be home again, and we hope to see you all at our shivaree soon now.”
“Tomorrow,” said Eleanor firmly. “Just been waiting on you to get back.”
“Tomorrow,” Ben repeated. “But now I think we’d like to settle in and get some rest.”
“That what the city fellows calling it these days?” shouted out someone in the crowd. Laughter.
“I’d tell you what the city fellows call it, but there’s children present,” Telaine called out. More laughter. Ben rolled his eyes.
Eleanor beat them to the front door. “We thought you shouldn’t have to come home to Ben’s old bachelor place. He’s tidy, but I know he eats over the sink most nights and, well…we did what we could.” She held open the door for them. Telaine crossed the threshold and her mouth dropped open.
She’d always liked Ben’s neat, small home and in all her plans hadn’t thought it needed much renovation. She saw at once she hadn’t seen the possibilities. Every surface had been newly sanded or polished or painted. The sofa had been re-covered and the rocking chair had new cushions. The old kitchen table was still there, but the single chair had been replaced by two new ones painted white to match the kitchen cupboards. The sink and stove had been thoroughly scrubbed. A few missing stones in the hearth had been replaced and a new set of fireplace tools sat prominently beside it.
“Lainie,” Ben said from their bedroom door. She joined him there and gasped. A new, wide four-poster bed took up most of the space, sporting not one but two thick mattresses. She ran her hand over their smooth linen casings. “It’s so beautiful,” she said. “Lie down.”
“Lainie, they were joking—”
“Lie down before you fall down, Ben. No, take your boots off first.” He sat heavily on the edge of the mattresses and she helped him pull off his boots and then eased him around so his leg was in a better position. “You stay here and I’m going to unload the wagon.”
“I have to help.”
“You have to recover.”
“Happen I’ll never walk right again.”
“That won’t be true if you rest more. Journey’s over. Time for our life to begin.”
She went outside and directed some of her lingering friends in unloading, and tried not to think that there were fewer of them. Time enough to remember lost friends later, at the tavern.
It was fun to arrange things in her own home. A year ago she would have laughed herself sick if someone had told her that today she’d be
putting away dishes and figuring out where to store household linens and shouting reassurances to a still-invalid husband. Julia had found in herself an unexpected gift for motherhood. Telaine thought she might have a talent for domesticity.
Having stowed everything, she laughingly shooed her friends away and went back inside to find Ben sitting on the sofa. “What are you doing up?” she asked.
“Got bored,” he said. “See how I’m sitting instead of wandering around?”
“I was going to have you move anyway so I could make the bed.” She rapidly tucked in sheets and spread the quilt over the mattresses, and chuckled, thinking of her first night in Longbourne and her struggle to fit the sheet to that worn, dirty mattress.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Myself.” She sat next to him on the sofa. “Now what?”
“I could make supper.” He paused. “You could visit Mistress Weaver.”
“Right now? You don’t mind?”
“Didn’t see her in the crowd. Happen she’s waiting for you to come to her.” Ben started rummaging in the cupboards. “You rearranged everything. And there’s no food in the pantry. Guess we’re eating at the tavern tonight.”
Telaine went down the street to Aunt Weaver’s house and knocked at the back door, then let herself in when there was no response. She heard the loom going in the front room, but not the spinning wheels, and found Aunt Weaver alone at the loom. “Hello,” she said, suddenly not sure what else to say.
“Heard you were back. Excuse me for not coming out, but I’ve got an order to fill by end of this week,” Aunt Weaver said, pitching her voice over the noise of the treadles. The shuttle flew back and forth.
Telaine looked around, found a chair, and sat where she could see her great-aunt’s face. “I never did thank you for taking me in.”
“No thanks needed. Did what young Jeffrey wanted, and not with much grace either.”
“You did more than you had to. I’m glad you’re here.”
Aunt Weaver grunted. Telaine took that as “thanks.” “I understand you’re still my non-royal father’s half-sister,” she added.
Agent of the Crown Page 40
