The Butterfly Formatted

by Vale, Victoria

  Her eyebrows shot up as she snatched the paper from Niall’s grasp. “Hart …”

  “There’s a vicar prepared to perform the ceremony on any day at any time,” Hart declared. “He will come at my behest to marry you discretely. The way I see it, no one has seen you in town or in Edinburgh in over five years. Who’s to say you did not run off to marry the Stablemaster and bear his child five years ago? Who’s to say you haven’t been wed all this time, and perhaps stayed away in order to hide a scandalous union? The only ones who need know you were only recently wed are myself and Maeve—who will sign the register as your witnesses—and the vicar, who will be paid well to keep his silence on the matter. In the unlikely event that he is ever asked about your marriage, he will swear he married you months before Serena’s birth.”

  Niall’s head spun as he glanced down at the object resting upon his knee. While Olivia studied the license, he lifted the little box and opened it, finding a ring inside that must surely be worth more than any amount of money he’d ever be able to earn. It looked to be several decades old, the gold setting flaunting pure cream-colored pearls interspersed with tiny diamonds glittering in the light.

  Olivia glanced into the box and gasped, one hand coming up over her mouth. “Mama’s ring.”

  Adam nodded. “It was always meant to be yours … along with many of her other personal effects. I’ve kept all her things stored at Dunnottar for you. I sent for the ring once I realized you’d begun to recover. I supposed that if you were feeling your way back to us, there’d be no better time than now for the two of you to finally get what you deserve.”

  Niall looked to Olivia, who had begun shedding tears now, her mouth still open in disbelief. She returned his gaze, looking as dumbfounded as he felt. He could hardly think or speak, his mind and heart torn in so many directions at once. At last, Olivia could truly be his in all the ways that counted, in all the ways he’d ever wanted. There was nothing to stand in their way this time—except perhaps the strictures of a society that had never included him. It was the one thing holding him back from claiming her, the one thing that had always niggled the back of his mind.

  “Hart, will ye give us a moment alone?”

  Adam scowled. “Are you ejecting me from my own study?”

  “It isnae yours anymore, is it? It’s Daphne’s. Now sod off, ye bastard.”

  With a chuckle, he stood from behind the desk and tugged at the hem of his coat to straighten it. “I’ll wait for you in the drawing room. Take all the time you need.”

  He crossed the room in a few long strides and disappeared with a quiet click of the door.

  Niall studied the ring for a moment. Olivia waited in silence, her gaze still a bit unfocused. This was a dream come true for them both. Nevertheless, he could not forget his father’s words, even all these years later.

  Fine things aren’t to be touched by the likes o’ me.

  See that ye never forget it!

  Try as he might, he hadn’t forgotten that Olivia was never supposed to be his. Loving her as he did, he realized that marrying him would bring its share of trials for her. After all she’d been through, he did not like the idea of being an added burden upon her. Neither did he like the notion of letting her go.

  Plucking the ring from the box, he turned it this way and that, studying the facets of the diamonds, the gleam of the pearls. The perfect ring for his perfect woman, and he was not fit to touch it.

  He glanced up to find her watching him, her gaze turned questioning.

  “Niall?”

  “I love ye, Livvie. Ye know that, don’t ye?”

  Turning a bit in her chair, she smiled. “Of course I do … and I love you.”

  “Aye. I also know ye’ve come such a long way. I’m proud of ye, mo gradh. Now that ye’ve gotten better, I cannae help but wonder if ye might not want more out of yer life.”

  She frowned. “What could be more important for me than you and Serena?”

  “Goin’ back to the society ye were born to. Perhaps findin’ a titled man who willnae care about Serena’s origins or any of it … someone who can give ye the fine life ye deserve.”

  She stiffened, her jaw going tight. “Niall, don’t you dare … don’t you turn craven on me again.”

  Raising a hand to halt her, he shook his head. “I’m not. I want ye for the rest of my life, Livvie. But I want ye to know ye have a choice … ye always had a choice. Ye’re the sister of one o’ the most powerful men in England and Scotland both. With his clout, no one’ll care where ye’ve been. The lords’ll still pursue ye, and without Bertram about, ye’d be free to enjoy it again. I just want ye to know ye dinnae have to choose me just because … well, just because of all that’s happened. Ye have a right to want the things ye were born for.”

  Olivia reached across the space between their chairs to touch his hand, her palm warm and sure against his. “I was born to be with you. And nothing—not Bertram’s death, not my recovery, not a bloody thing—is going to change that. I know what I want … I think I’ve known since I was a little girl pretending to a princess up on your shoulders. I want my knight. Now get down on your knees and ask me to marry you before I wring your neck.”

  He couldn’t help a laugh, a wide grin splitting his face as he found himself jumping to do her bidding. Anything to please his princess.

  “Aye, m’lady,” he said, dropping out of his chair and onto one knee, holding the ring up between them.

  “I dinnae have much to give ye other than myself, my name, and the wages of a butler. But if ye’ll have them, they’re yers. Everything I have … all that I am … it’s always been yers. Will ye marry me, Livvie?”

  She threw herself at him, slamming into his chest and almost causing him to lose his balance.

  “Yes,” she whispered before she kissed him—first his brow, then his nose, then his cheek, his jaw, and finally, his mouth.

  He clung to the ring with one hand and her with the other, burying his face in her hair. Had someone asked him to describe the joy welling up in him as he returned her kiss, he would have failed. It proved simply indescribable.

  “This is it,” he told her while sliding the ring onto the third finger of her left hand. “Nothing’ll ever come between us again, mo gradh, I swear it.”

  She smiled and cupped his face, her eyes as bright, clear, and filled with happiness as he’d ever seen them.

  “I swear it, too. I’ve always belonged to you, Niall … my one regret was that the world could never know it. Now, I want nothing more than for them all to know that I am yours and you are mine.”

  He breathed a bit easier knowing she was still willing to endure the scrutiny of her peers for his sake. He’d make sure she never regretted her choice a day of their lives.

  Taking his hand, she stood and urged him to his feet. “Perhaps the minister can come today!”

  He clutched her hand as she all but dragged him from the room, her excitement a tangible thing filling the air with such warmth. The lilting melody of the pianoforte drew them to the drawing room, where Adam had passed the time at his favorite instrument. Spying them from the corner of his eye, he ceased playing and stood, gazing at them expectantly.

  Raising their joined hands to show him she was wearing the ring, Olivia grinned. “We are getting married. As soon as you can arrange it, if you please.”

  Adam graced them with a rare smile. “Congratulations. I wish the world for both of you.”

  Olivia released Niall and went to him, coming up on tiptoe to embrace her brother. Hart leaned down from his substantial height to meet her, wrapping both arms around her slender waist.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, becoming choked up again. “This means the world to me.”

  “You mean the world to me. I’ve done all I can to care for you, but now, it is Niall’s turn. If I’m forced to let you go, I would not want it to be to anyone but him. Be free, butterfly. Be happy.”

  “I will be.”

  After kis
sing her forehead, he pulled away from her as if to leave the room, but Olivia’s hand upon his arm halted him.

  “Hart, I know you said you did not want to discuss Daphne anymore, but are you certain you’re doing the right thing? Are you sure you will be all right?”

  “I am, and I will be,” Adam replied. “Stop worrying about me, and enjoy this moment. I must go make the arrangements.”

  Olivia released him, and he crossed the room to leave. Pausing at the door, he turned back as if he’d forgotten something.

  “Two more things,” he said. “Firstly, Niall, you are released from my service, effective immediately. You are no longer my butler, Stablemaster, or anything else. From now on, you are simply my brother.”

  Niall opened his mouth to protest, to insist that he must be able to provide for Olivia in whatever way he could, even if that meant continuing his duties. He’d never been a man to shun work, having been born for it.

  But Adam held up a hand as if to silence him and then went on.

  “Secondly, you ought to know that upon your marriage, the two of you will become the owners of Dunvar House. As well, Olivia’s dowry will be released to you to live off of. If you manage it well, it should last you a lifetime with enough to settle on Serena and any future children.”

  “M-my dowry?” Olivia blurted, at the same time Niall practically bellowed, “Dunvar House?”

  Adam smirked, raising an eyebrow at them. “Aye. Olivia’s always had a dowry. When Father lived, it stood at twenty-five thousand pounds. I doubled it when I sent for the ring. The deed to the house will be signed over to Niall, as it is mine to do with as I please. It pleases me to give it to you. Call it a wedding gift.”

  Niall’s hands shook, his gut twisting and churning as he tried to digest all of this. He was not taking it as well as he should, feeling as if he might faint dead on the spot. Not only was he getting Livvie to have and love for the rest of his life … he was also the owner of the finest home in Edinburgh, and would become a wealthy man, to boot. A world of endless possibilities stretched out before him, in which there could be more for him than grooming horses or keeping a wine cellar. One in which he was now the master and others would serve him, work for him, cater to him, Livvie, and his little Serena. He fought the urge to pinch himself, Olivia’s solid presence beside him proving a good enough reminder that this was not a dream.

  Adam slipped from the room without another word, leaving them to look at one another with varying degrees of shock and excitement in their eyes. Niall felt certain he must look quite the bumbling fool, his mouth still hanging open, his eyes glazed and unfocused.

  Olivia broke the spell, jumping into his arms with an excited laugh, her arms and legs wrapping around him in a way that made him forget everything else. She was his, and that was all he needed. The rest of it was simply the cream on top of an already delicious and wonderful dessert.

  “Oh, Niall, I am so happy,” she said, laying her forehead into his and holding his gaze. “We can do anything we want, have anything we want. We’ll get to live in the home we grew up in, the place where we fell in love.”

  He clung to her, one hand stroking up and down her back in a soothing caress. “Ye aren’t angry at Hart for putting the deed in my name instead of yours? It should be yours, Livvie, as should the money.”

  She shook her head. “It will be ours, because anything that is yours, I will live in and share with. And it is the sort of thing I’ve always hoped for you … the sort of thing I’ve known you were born for. You weren’t meant to be a Stablemaster or a butler. Now, we can discover what you can be, free from all the things that held you back. The world is ours, Niall.”

  “All I ever wanted was you, mo gradh.”

  Tightening her hold on him, she smiled. “You have me, Mr. Gibbs … forever and always.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Six weeks later …

  Edinburgh, Scotland

  livia rested her head against Niall’s shoulder with a contented sigh, shifting her hands deeper into her fur muff. Winter was upon them, and the chill in the air permeated the carriage, making her glad they had almost arrived at Dunvar House. After a long, tiring journey, the Gibbs family was now coming home.

  Touching the fingers of her right hand against her left, she found the gold, pearl, and diamond ring Niall had slipped onto her finger six weeks ago. Had it really been so long? They’d been wed the day after Adam had given them the license and the ring, in a lovely hotel room in Mayfair. By the time the vicar had come to perform the ceremony, they’d vacated Fairchild House and taken up residence in the suite of rooms.

  With the light of the morning sun streaming through the windows, she and Niall had spoken their vows with Adam, Maeve, and Serena looking on. Olivia had adorned herself in powder blue for the occasion, one of the best gowns that had been brought with her from Dunnottar. Not her finest frock by far, but that did not matter with Niall looking upon her as if staring at some sort of angel, his eyes open and clear with the devotion he felt for her. Serena had clung to her hand during the ceremony, holding on to the hastily gathered flowers that had been tied together for a bouquet. She’d taken the occasion quite seriously, declaring it the happiest day of her life. At last, the man who’d been helping to raise her would become her father in truth … and only days before her fifth birthday. She’d declared it the greatest birthday present ever—until Uncle Adam had presented her with the puppy she’d been coveting for months.

  Said puppy rolled about on the seat beside her—ginger brown fur covering its plump, adorable body. Serena was almost as enamored with the dog—a girl whom she had named Daphne—as she was with Niall.

  Kneeling on the seat across from Olivia with Niall at her side, she peered through the window at the passing landscape. “Papa, are we almost there?”

  Olivia’s heart warmed at how easily the endearment fell from her lips, as if she’d been calling him that her entire life. Niall had not insisted upon it, but Serena had asked to be allowed to call him Papa, and of course, he had been happy to hear it. She’d never before questioned her parentage, but Olivia knew the day might come when she did. It worried her, of course, but she could put that aside for the time being. Serena only knew that she was loved and indulged, and had been given a new papa who made her mama very happy.

  “Almost, a bhobain,” he replied, reaching out to fix the perpetually crooked bow atop her auburn curls.

  His fine leather gloves went with the rest of his elegant ensemble—his wool greatcoat covering clothing as fine as anything a London lord might wear. Adam had accompanied him to Bond Street on the day after the wedding to see him outfitted with an entire wardrobe filled with new coats, waistcoats, boots, cravats, and the other trimmings. Niall confessed that he did not always feel himself in the attire and that he still did not feel like that he had any right to spend a cent of her dowry. Olivia knew it would take time for him to grow used to the way things were now. This was how it worked on her level of society—a woman married a man, and everything that was hers became his. Only now, because she adored the man she’d married, she wanted nothing more than for him to own everything she owned, to share in her wealth and status.

  He’d been to a barber, too, having his overgrown hair trimmed and styled in the latest whimsically tousled fashion. She had tried to talk him into a valet, but he had rejected the idea, not at all comfortable with someone else dressing or shaving him. Thus, the shadow of a day’s worth of stubble peppering his jaw. Olivia liked it, naturally. It reminded her of who he really was, along with the scar on the left side of his face. It helped him to retain his rugged air, even while he wore the finery of a gentleman.

  After the wedding, they’d remained in London just long enough to receive news of the end of Bertram’s trial. Adam had attended the daily sessions and returned to the hotel to report the events to them. Olivia did not wish to emerge into society yet—wanting more time alone with Niall and Serena first—and so did not care to atte
nd the trial. As well, she had no wish to lay eyes upon Bertram ever again. It was enough for her to know that he could not hurt another soul again. As expected, the testimony of the six victims, as well as Daphne’s account of Bertram’s attempt on her life, had been enough to see him convicted. They had left London immediately after the sentence had been passed down: Lord Fairchild was to be executed by hanging. Adam had stayed back, determined to see it through to the end. After witnessing the execution for himself, he would return to Scotland.

  And so, as they returned home, Olivia left behind the final ghost of her past—the demon who had been the source of her torment. He no longer had the power to hurt her, and in truth, hadn’t had that power for some time.

  “When we get to Dunvar House, may Daffy sleep in my bed?” Serena asked, cutting through the path of her thoughts.

  Olivia exchanged glances with Niall, then peered down at the dog, who was still learning not to piddle all over the rugs.

  “We shall see,” she hedged, not wanting to disappoint Serena, but not entirely certain she wanted canine Daphne soiling the bedclothes.

  Serena accepted this and settled onto the seat, arranging her skirts and pelisse around her legs.

  Within moments, they had arrived home. Pulling up before the front steps, the carriage slowed as footmen rushed forward to assist them. Word had been sent ahead of their arrival, so the entire staff stood outside to greet them, many of the servants being those who had served in the household since she’d been a girl.

  She worried over how they would receive Niall, knowing he’d come from among their ranks. But as Niall lifted Serena to the ground, then gave her a hand out of the conveyance, she realized she’d had nothing to fret over. The servants were properly deferent and kind. Many expressed their joy that she’d recovered and come home at last. Most seemed glad that she was happily wed at all—never mind who the groom happened to be.

  Niall adjusted the fur bundle of “Daffy” in his hold and shifted from foot to foot in his new boots, still looking a bit uneasy. However, when she took his arm so they could go inside, he looked down at her and smiled. All his discomfort fled in an instant, and she saw only the man who loved her, her husband.