Mishap Marriage

by Helen Dickson

  ‘And how long has she been a widow?’

  ‘About two years—and she’s certainly come out of her shell since. Her closeness to Lord Byrne—her husband’s heir—has been duly noted. I didn’t have the pleasure of conversing properly with Lord Harcourt last night by the way. I’m impatient for him to call. When he enquired after you and I told him you had left the ball, I could swear he looked fit to commit murder.’

  * * *

  It wasn’t difficult for Thomas to locate where Lord Harcourt was staying. Arriving at the house, he was shown into a spacious, panelled library where Lord Harcourt was standing. The two men stood facing each other, Zack looking far more ominous than amiable. Thomas seemed unconcerned with the tangible danger emanating from Lord Harcourt. In fact, he appeared relieved that the confrontation was happening at last.

  Zack acknowledged Thomas with a sardonic, questioning look. ‘So we meet again, Reverend Franklyn. I think you have some explaining to do. Shall we indulge in polite trivialities for the next couple of minutes, or shall we come directly to the point?’

  ‘I am sure Shona explained the situation precisely when you met last night. Before we go any further, you should know that she has no idea that I have come here. She would have been against it. I have to try to right the wrong my cousin inflicted on you. Yet the fact cannot be overlooked that both you and my cousin Antony resorted to dishonest practices in order to find a resourceful solution to a difficult situation.’

  Zack’s eyes were brittle, his tone ironic. ‘And your own involvement was without reproach?’

  ‘No, it was not. As far as you and Shona are concerned, I can confirm that you are indeed man and wife. The papers you signed are genuine. If you do not wish to remain married to each other, then you must seek a divorce. I am not proud of what I did. Indeed, I’ve had time to regret my actions.’

  ‘A man in your position should be beyond corruption.’

  ‘I agree. It was a mistake—a huge mistake. I deeply regret allowing Antony to play me for a fool. What I did, I did for Shona. I knew how unhappy she was on the island and that her presence at Melrose Hill with Carmelita had become unbearable. According to Antony she was not averse to you. Determined to abide by his father’s wishes, he would not allow her to leave Santamaria without the protection of a husband. I only agreed to go through with the ceremony because I thought it was what Shona wanted. I had no idea Antony was deceiving Shona as well as me.’

  ‘And you expect me to believe this?’

  ‘Your own actions could be held up for question. You are not entirely blameless. When you decided to play Antony at his own game, you entered into an arrangement devoid of honour and didn’t care about the hurt it would cause Shona.’

  ‘Because I believed she was part of the deception.’

  ‘She wasn’t. She really had no idea of the scheming going on behind her back. When she was made aware of the facts she was devastated. Believe me when I say that she was innocent of any wrongdoing.’

  A pair of silver-grey eyes held his captive, measuring his response, judging it for truth.

  Zack drew a long breath and nodded slightly, his expression no longer coldly forbidding. ‘I know that now.’

  ‘You do?’

  ‘Absolutely. It wrenches my gut to think that I took part in something so despicable.’ Regret surged upwards within him and was so intense he was nearly taken aback by surprise. ‘Because I thought she’d tricked me so artfully, damaging both my ego and my pride, I insulted her by treating her as if she had. When I hatched my plan to deceive her, I never dreamed I would come to care so deeply for her. I treated her abominably. She deserved better from me.’

  ‘You feel no worse than I do,’ Thomas said. ‘I think I should tell you that I’ve decided to leave the church.’

  ‘Over this?’

  Thomas shook his head. ‘There are many reasons too numerous to go into just now. Suffice to say that I’ve been battling with my conscience for some time. You might say that circumstances on Santamaria forced my hand. But what now? I believe Shona has asked for an annulment.’

  ‘There will be no annulment. I have made Shona aware of this. However, things are still rather complicated, I admit.’

  ‘I’m happy to hear it. You must speak with her. At this present time she’s at a pretty low point. Her pride has taken a battering, too. Go to her.’

  Knowing that as each moment passed, Shona’s hurt and anger would be hardening into hatred, naked pain flashed across Zack’s handsome features. ‘I’m on my way.’

  * * *

  It was one o’clock when Zack arrived to see Shona. She had just come in from the garden and gone to her room to refresh herself when Morag informed her that her husband had just arrived. Crossing to the window, she looked out and, sure enough, an ornate, shining black coach and four was outside her aunt’s villa, the fine black horses tossing their heads, as if they had borne the devil to his destination.

  With her heart in her throat Shona eventually entered her aunt’s stately drawing room. On seeing Zack, she quivered, half with a spurt of apprehension about how he would react and half with relief that he had cared enough to come. As always, he was every bit as imposing in his dark, brooding way, a man any woman would be proud to call her husband—or lover. With clenched hands, she fought the memory that thought aroused. She didn’t like to remember the night she had thought he was her husband and welcomed him into her bed as a bride. Sometimes she forgot the terribly wanton things they’d done, the pleasures they’d shared without the final act. And then a mere glimpse of him, the sound of his voice, would send them rushing back again.

  With one of his long legs crossed over the other, he was in conversation with her aunt, apparently friends already. Shona could see that her aunt, arranged in elegant perfection on a graceful Egyptian-style couch with The Morning Post on her lap, was savouring every moment, positively eating up Zack’s attention. The deep, velvet rumble of his cultured baritone made her stomach flutter.

  She hadn’t expected him to just turn up at the house like this—but then she hadn’t known what to expect from him. Zack was a law unto himself. He was no foppish, romantic young gallant. With his jaw set with implacable determination, even in pensive pose he seemed to emanate the restrained power and unyielding authority she had always sensed in him.

  Zack stood up the moment Shona entered. Their gazes locked—a tremor ran the entire length of Shona’s body. As he approached her, she was filled with a disturbing surge of lust for him, despite her anger and hurt and her general desire to throttle the man.

  ‘Here she is!’ Augusta said sweetly.

  Shona held her breath, her eyes wary the closer he came. He was looking every inch the handsome, elegant lord today, with his blue coat and darker blue trousers, his striped blue-and-silver waistcoat and his immaculate white linen, and it was clear by the admiring face of her aunt and the way she patted her hair and straightened her gown that she was quite overwhelmed.

  He is no doubt accustomed to this sort of feminine reaction everywhere he goes, Shona thought wryly. Well, he might have fooled her aunt with that smooth charm of his, but she saw through this shrewd puppet master who was determined to control her now he’d decided not to set her free.

  ‘Hello, Shona,’ he greeted her, his silver-grey eyes aglow, a slight smile on his lips, with no sign of his fury of the night before.

  He looked so pleased with himself, she thought. She smiled at him with an aloof lift of her chin as he bent and kissed her cheek, reproach shooting from her eyes. She refused to shrink from his touch and the intensity of his gaze, but the scent of his flesh lingered.

  Augusta beamed from her chair. ‘There now,’ she enthused, ‘this is so agreeable. Ring the bell for tea, Shona.’ But before her niece could move to do her bidding, Zack protested.

  ‘No, please, do
not trouble yourself on my account,’ he said. ‘I will not trespass on your time too long. I wanted to see Shona, but I also wished to pay my respects to you, Lady Franklyn—and your son Thomas.’

  ‘I am delighted to receive you. Unfortunately, Thomas is not at home at present, Lord Harcourt, but I know he will regret having missed you.’ So taken was she with her visitor that she was unaware of the powerful currents of tension that passed between Shona and her husband at the mention of her son’s name. ‘I have to say what a perfectly beautiful couple you make!’

  ‘It’s kind of you to say so, Lady Franklyn,’ Zack said, not looking away from Shona.

  ‘Isn’t it just?’ Shona retorted for his ears alone, her look telling him that nothing had changed.

  Zack took one look at her and saw he had some making up to do. His young wife was not the expert that he was at hiding her feelings—what he read in her face told him that she was still furious because he refused to grant her her freedom. So he would have to pacify her and help her see the wisdom of their marriage. Being rather skilled at compartmentalising different areas of his life, he was able to put the difficulties this would pose with Caroline and his daughter aside for the moment. Now he’d had time to get used to the idea of being married to Shona—of wanting her to be his wife—in his mind he had already begun to think of her as his. Strangely, any objection on her part merely strengthened his resolve.

  When he had last seen her, she had been a radiant star in a shimmering gown of silver lace, almost untouchable in her pristine elegance, but today she was as warm as the sun. In a state of unpretentious loveliness she was demure in her floral-printed day dress, with three-quarter sleeves edged with lace and a white fichu tucked into the neckline. The sunlight, streaming in through the window behind her, illuminated her thick mane of golden hair, which hung free about her shoulders and was held back from her face with a simple pink ribbon.

  Keeping a firm check on his desire, Zack smiled at her and took a step back.

  ‘I did not expect you to call so soon,’ Shona remarked. ‘You find me unprepared for visitors.’

  ‘I am no ordinary visitor, Shona.’ He gave her a confident smile. ‘I recall you telling me not to take too long in calling on you.’

  ‘Did I?’ she replied briskly, wishing he would leave, knowing he was not here to make idle chit-chat. ‘I don’t remember.’

  ‘And I am no ordinary visitor.’

  Her cheeks flushed suddenly. ‘No, you’re not.’

  ‘My dear Shona.’ He took both her hands between his own and gazed soberly into her eyes. ‘It’s a pleasant afternoon and I have my carriage outside. I want you to come for a ride with me.’

  He didn’t ask, he stated, Shona noted angrily. ‘I don’t think—’

  ‘Oh, but you must, Shona,’ Augusta said. ‘A ride in the park is just what you need. It’s too fine a day for you to remain cooped up indoors. Now run along and get your bonnet. I will entertain Lord Harcourt while you are gone.’

  Zack sent her a small frown askance and the impatient look in his eyes brooked no argument. Raising her chin a notch, she turned from him. ‘Very well. Who am I to argue?’

  * * *

  Upon leaving the house, with his hand placed possessively on Shona’s elbow, Zack escorted her out into the street. Handing her up into the carriage, he then went around to the driver’s seat as his groom climbed to his post in back. Gathering the reins, he snapped them smartly over the backs of his high-stepping horses. Their hoofbeats rebounded off the elegant houses as his carriage rolled down the cobbled street, urging them to a canter when they entered the main thoroughfare and drove the short distance to Hyde Park. The speed at which they travelled brought a reluctant smile to Shona’s lips, her hair flying behind her and whipping around the sides of her bonnet.

  Zack cast her an admiring sideways glance. ‘Glad you came?’

  Shona was surprised by his unexpected gentleness and, worse, completely at a loss as to how to answer. She wanted to appear haughty, coldly remote—anything but friendly, for that was tantamount to giving in. On the other hand, she could scarcely say no, she wished she hadn’t come. ‘It’s a pleasant diversion, I suppose. I had nothing better to do.’

  He smiled as the fetching creature pretended not to be over-enthused. ‘Careful, Shona,’ he said with underlying sarcasm. ‘Your enthusiasm might show. At least we can be accorded some privacy out here.’

  Shona was about to retort that the last thing she wanted was privacy with him, but, with her emotions all over the place, she decided to hold her tongue.

  When they arrived in the park, being the height of the Season and a Sunday, they found the Ring crowded with mounted riders and open carriages occupied by persons of rank and fashion. The pace was fast and the park roadways muddy following an earlier rainfall.

  Zack quickly noted the stares they drew from society ladies and how young men gawked at Shona. Word had quickly spread that the delectable creature who had graced the Whitchester Ball last night was his wife, generating a great deal of attention. Turning off the Ring, he drove away from the crowds towards Kensington Gardens, where he slowed the trotting horses to a halt.

  ‘I thought we might stretch our legs and walk for a while.’ Climbing out, he went round to assist her down while the groom alighted to take care of the horses. ‘The fresh air agrees with you,’ he said, noting the blooming colour in her cheeks.

  Leaving the carriage, they strolled along a gravelled path beneath the trees.

  Shona glanced at the lazily relaxed man beside her. She knew he was trying to break the ice and carry on reasonably normal conversation with her. Sullenness was foreign to her nature and she felt horribly churlish for remaining cross. Unaware that Thomas had paid him a visit earlier, finally she said, ‘Do you intend going back to sea?’ She was suddenly curious about what he intended now he was back in England.

  ‘I might, but not yet. I shall conduct my business from London—or my home in Surrey—for the time being and let others bring back sugar, indigo, rum and other goods from Virginia and the Indies.’

  Shona shot him a curious look. ‘I didn’t know you had a house in Surrey.’

  ‘There’s a lot about me that you don’t know, Shona. Yes, I have a house in Surrey—Harcourt Hall. It was where my mother was raised. It’s very beautiful.’

  ‘I suspect you will miss your life at sea. What will you do with your time?’

  ‘I will have much to occupy me. It will give me time to meet with investors, to watch the stock prices—and,’ he said, looking at her, ‘to put down roots. My father is the Earl of Halland and the ancestral home is in Kent.’

  ‘Is your mother still alive?’

  ‘Very much so.’ He grinned. ‘She’s the stalwart of the family. I doubt my father could function without her. My older brother, Harry—who is married to Miranda with two young sons—will inherit Halland Park one day. I also have two sisters. They are both married and live north and west of London. That leaves me.’

  His face softened and his eyes warmed at the mention of his home. Against her better judgement Shona kept him talking about a subject that obviously meant something special to him. ‘What’s Halland Park like?’

  ‘It’s a beautiful place,’ he said with a soft smile. ‘It’s been in the family for six centuries. The original earl built a castle on it. I believe different aggressors coveted it and laid siege to it, but no one could take it. The castle was demolished by another ancestor, who built a mansion. Then the next earls enhanced and enlarged it until it became the place it is. It’s the responsibility of my brother to preserve it.’

  ‘Do you regret not being the elder brother?’

  He shook his head. ‘No, I never did. My heart was set on sailing ships and building up a fleet of my own.’

  ‘And sailing to foreign shores.’

&nbs
p; ‘Something like that. I succeeded and now it’s time for me to settle down at Harcourt.’

  He fell silent, as if unwilling to show how much he would miss the adventure of life at sea, and when he lapsed into silence, she realised he must be reflecting on how drastically different his new life would be.

  ‘I hope the transition will be as smooth and painless as possible for you.’

  ‘Thank you. Tell me about the time you spent in England as a schoolgirl.’

  ‘There’s very little to tell, really. I was at school in Hertfordshire and during the holidays I went to stay with my friend’s family in Northamptonshire or in London with Aunt Augusta—when she was in town. She wanted to bring me out, to make my début, but my father had died and Antony insisted I went home to Santamaria.’

  ‘And would you have liked to be a débutante?’

  ‘Yes, I think it would have been fun. My friends wrote telling me of their experiences—the balls they attended and the assemblies—and I confess I was envious at the time, being so far away. But it couldn’t be helped.’

  ‘And now you’re a married lady who has been denied the frivolous fun that would have been yours as a débutante.’ He clasped his hands behind him and, looking every inch the proper lord, his expression became serious. ‘Please believe that I have nothing but regret for what has happened. What I did was thoughtless and cruel, and I realise you must have been deeply hurt.’

  ‘You don’t need to soothe my pride. It isn’t necessary. My heart was not broken, although my pride was bruised and I am still hurting,’ she confessed. ‘You and my brother treated me very badly.’

  ‘I won’t do it again, I swear to you.’

  ‘You say that, but you made me believe a lie before, so how can I know that you aren’t deceiving me now?’

  ‘You don’t. But when you get to know me better, you will learn to trust me.’

  Zack turned and studied her profile. He had developed a deep attraction for her on the island, strong enough that one could safely describe it as a sort of madness with him. He wanted her so badly. She had become in his eyes a woman as alluring and desirable as any he had ever known. Even now, when the consequences of what he had done were so grave, he wanted her. Even now, when all the things he valued most—his home, the honour of his name, his daughter and the legitimacy of a possible heir—were in jeopardy, even now, he wanted her.