Ever My Love: The Lore of the Lucius Ring (The Legend of the Theodosia Sword Book 2)

by Kathryn Le Veque

  Though Papa was right to chastise her, Annie hated to watch her sister in such misery. She went to the bed and spoke soft, soothing words as she patted her. “What’s past is past, dearest. Nothing harmed.”

  With one final heaving sob, Fanny sat up and took the fresh handkerchief Annie offered. “I almost killed you.”

  “What are you talking about?” Annie asked.

  “If you had drowned, it would have been my fault.”

  That was partially true. “Thankfully, the duke rescued me from such a fate.”

  Now Fanny leaned over and encircled Annie with both arms and held her tightly. “I’m so sorry. I would have died if you did. I love you more than I love anyone.”

  Tears welled in Annie’s eyes.

  “And,” Fanny continued, “I realize now all my wickedness was in vain. The duke is in love with you, and I wish you every happiness with him.”

  “Thank you. I do believe he may love me, but he doesn’t know it yet.”

  “Then you must see that he discovers it. You two are perfect for one another.”

  “I wish I knew how to go about that.”

  “Leave it to me.”

  * * *

  When the sisters entered the dining room the following morning, Papa was sitting there talking to Mr. Douglass. Empty plates in front of them indicated they had already eaten. The twins joined Mr. Swinnerton at the sideboard where the three of them helped themselves to the breakfast offerings.

  As Annie was slathering freshly-churned butter onto her toast, Fanny addressed Mr. Swinnerton. “Since my poor sister was unable to see the gardens of Ripley yesterday afternoon, I was hoping you could show them to her after breakfast. I would myself, but Mr. Douglass has offered to take me to the chapel.”

  Mr. Swinnerton smiled upon Annie. “I would be honored to take you about the gardens—after you eat, of course.”

  “Thank you. I shall look forward to it.” She would much rather stroll through the rich green lawns on Alex’s arm.

  A cup of tea in one hand, and a small plate in the other, Annie came to sit next to her father.

  Lord Tolworth smiled upon her. “Mr. Douglass was just telling me that power should be vested only in the ruling class, and that our class will see to it that citizens will be taken care of.”

  She raised her brows, eyeing Mr. Douglass, who was the grandson of a duke. “Not to disparage you, but your thinking belongs in the Dark Ages. We are in the age of Enlightenment.”

  “It’s glad I am that women are not permitted to serve in Parliament,” Mr. Douglass said with smile.

  From the corner of her eye, Annie saw Alex enter the chamber. Her heartbeat stampeded. Even her breath grew short with the memory of their intimacy the previous night. She went mute.

  All the guests greeted their host as he poured a cup of tea. “Your grace must come sit by us,” Lord Tolworth said. “My daughter has been chastising poor Douglass over his Tory beliefs. The presence of our host might have the effect of making Annie behave more civilly.”

  Alex chuckled as his gaze flicked from Annie to her father. “While your daughter is possessed of strong beliefs, I choose not to rein her in since her opinions align with mine.” He came to sit next to Mr. Douglass, opposite of Annie.

  “You’re not eating, your grace?” she asked.

  “I ate much earlier.”

  Lord Tolworth peered at his host. “So you had difficulty sleeping?”

  Alex laughed to himself. “You know me too well, my lord.”

  Annie wondered if he lost sleep for the same reason that robbed her of sleep the previous night—The Kiss as well as his strange reaction to it.

  Alex turned to Mr. Douglass, smiling broadly. “I do hope Lord Tolworth’s opinionated daughter isn’t being uncivil to a guest in my house.” Then with a wink, he eyed Annie.

  “Oh, no, your grace,” Mr. Douglass sputtered. “Lady Annia and I are used to verbal sparring.”

  “We have to put up with Mr. Douglass nearly every day,” Annie said facetiously, rolling her eyes even as she smiled.

  “I, for one, enjoy Mr. Douglass’s visits,” said Fanny, who had sat at the other side of the Scotsman.

  The tender look Mr. Douglass gave Fanny could have melted the butter on the sideboard.

  “You do believe the franchise should be extended, do you not, your grace?” Annie asked.

  His black eyes met hers. “I may be shooting myself in the foot, but I most certainly do. The power is vested in too few.”

  “His grace should know,” her father said. “He controls eight and thirty seats in Parliament—thankfully seats he’s insured are occupied by Whigs.”

  “Such changes are not likely to come in our lifetime,” Annie said, “but it’s gratifying to know men like you and my father will work toward such reforms.”

  Lord Crest entered the chamber, and after he piled his plate very high, came to sit to the other side of Annie. His brows lowered as he squinted at her. “Lady Annia, is it not?”

  She nodded. “Bravo, Lord Crest. Few gentlemen have ever been able to tell one of us from the other.” She eyed Mr. Douglass. “I believe Mr. Douglass is the only one.”

  “I have,” the duke said, an adversarial tone in his voice.

  “I . . . wasn’t sure if you were sure,” she said.

  His voice softened. “I would know you anywhere, my lady.”

  His comment sent her pulse racing again. Coming from his lips, she fancied it was a romantic statement.

  “I do hope, Lady Annia, that you have suffered no ill effects from your plunge into the Thames yesterday,” Lord Crest said.

  “No ill effects,” she said. Somehow, dear Eliza had contrived to clean the potato dirt and muddy duck prints from yesterday’s dress, so a modicum of Annie’s confidence had been restored as she wore the feminine dress.

  “In fact,” Mr. Swinnerton said, “Lady Annia has done me the honor of permitting me to take her through the duke’s gardens.” He eyed her. “Are your finished eating, my lady?”

  She noted his plate was clean, even though he’d had twice as much food as she’d taken. She would much rather spend the morning sitting around this table talking politics with her father and Alex, but she knew she must go along with Fanny’s scheme.

  Hopefully, it would be successful in igniting Alex’s passions—especially passion for her.

  “Certainly, my lord,” she said, smiling up at the man as if she worshipped him, leaving her chair.

  Alex glared at Mr. Swinnerton. “I’d suggest you not take long. If it’s agreeable to Lord and Lady Tolworth, the yacht will be ready to take all of you back at one o’clock.”

  * * *

  Once again Annie was responsible for his uncharacteristic behavior. Because of her he was being an abominable host. Once she’d left the eating room, he did too. He wanted to watch her as she explored his grounds with that arrogant Swinnerton. Stewing in ill humor, Alex would not have been good company had he stayed in the dinner room. He had looked forward to showing her Ripley. Of all his properties, Ripley was his favorite. He had envisioned strolling through the verdant grounds with her on his arm.

  Of course he had made a mess of showing her the house last night. Why had he gone and kissed her like that? It was far from being a platonic kiss. Hell, it was far from being a chaste kiss! He had wanted to ravish her.

  The very memory of it made something within him ache. It was like a huge, gaping void where his heart should be.

  He wondered if Swinnerton would try to kiss her. Suddenly, the prospect of hurling a fist into the smug Swinnerton’s face held great appeal. Better yet, shove him into the Thames and hope he could not swim.

  He started to go to the library because it had several windows from which he could see his grounds, but he couldn’t go there. Not now, not when the memory of their kiss was so fresh. And so debilitating.

  Instead, he went upstairs to his own chambers, and from there he watched Annie stroll along the garden paths on Sw
innerton’s arm, smiling up at him and laughing. What the devil could the two of them find to discuss? To Alex’s knowledge, Swinnerton did not even try to serve in Parliament. Did the man have no sense of public service? Was he completely given to the pursuit of pleasure? He likely went about debauching innocent maidens. He’d better not try to take liberties with Annie! Alex determined he would not leave his post at this window. It was imperative that he watch Annie. She needed to be protected from libertines like Swinnerton.

  Annie paused to play with his pup, Blackie. The dog didn’t usually warm to anyone except him but, like his master, was captivated by Lady Annia Childe.

  Swinnerton stood frowning down at the hound as if the tail-wagging mutt was his rival for her affections. By God, Swinnerton needed to know that Lady Annia Childe was not available!

  Chapter Six

  Bidding his guests farewell was not without regrets. How excited he had been four-and-twenty hours earlier, how eagerly he had looked forward to seeing Annie and to showing her his favorite place. All that promise was unfulfilled, like a beautiful babe grown into pimpled corpulence. Nothing had gone as he’d expected. It filled him with bitterness to think another man had been the one to show her his gardens.

  Now nothing brought pleasure. As Annie moved to be handed onto the yacht, he stepped up and offered his arm. “Allow me. I shouldn’t like to see you take a second plunge, my lady.”

  “Oh, your grace, I am so sorry.” Her hand settled upon his sleeve.

  Under normal circumstances, a woman’s so modest a touch would not have affected him in the least.

  Annie, though, was not just any woman. Annie’s touch affected him.

  “Nothing to apologize for. I am just happy I was able to pull a live body from this river.”

  Once she was on his yacht, Swinnerton and Crest swooped upon her like birds to breadcrumbs.

  His last vision of her was of her waving at him, Swinnerton at one side and Lord Crest at the other where she sat on the long bench.

  That same vision would not disappear long after the yacht was out of sight. He went to his library to catch up on his correspondence, but he could not dispel the picture of her being flirted with by not one, but two men.

  When he was unable to compose even a passable salutatory sentence, he put his letters aside and pulled a book off the shelf. Since Gibbon’s second volume was scheduled to be out any day, he thought to reread the first volume. Even in school, he’d been fond of anything to do with the Romans. That, too, proved futile. All his thoughts were on Annie.

  What was to prevent a pretty girl like her from falling in love with either of those men? Could her father not make it clear to her that neither of them was worthy of her hand? Neither of them could ever be compatible with her.

  Last night Alex had been confident in her affections. That the daughter of an earl would have ridden in a potato boat indicated a far greater fondness than a mere desire to see Ripley would warrant.

  And then, he thought with a hitch in his now-erratic breath, there was The Kiss. It would have been impossible to fake the passion she’d put into that kiss.

  So how had he repaid the girl for her affections? He’d fled in the same way an offended schoolgirl might have. It would serve him right if she accepted Swinnerton—or Lord Crest. He’d wager neither of those gentlemen would have rushed away after kissing her.

  The notion of her accepting either of them felt like the thump from a cannonball.

  He tried to analyze those feelings that had sent him reeling away from her the previous night. He had been bloody afraid his precious bachelorhood was being threatened.

  It suddenly became clear to him that bachelorhood could not compare to what he felt for Annie. She possessed every single quality he could ever want in a woman. When she was removed from the Marriage Mart, he could be a shriveled up old man before another could ever offer all that Annie did.

  He also examined what was so bloody satisfying about his unwed state. How long had it been since he had looked forward to something with as much eager anticipation as he’d looked forward to showing Ripley to Annie?

  All of his possessions were nothing if he could not share them with someone. Someone like Annie.

  No, he thought, not someone like Annie, he wanted to share all he had with Annie.

  He rang for a servant. “We return to London.”

  * * *

  He found Lord Tolworth at Brook’s not long after night fell. “I beg a private word, my lord.”

  The two men found a quiet chamber and stood before the fire. Alex cleared his throat. “I have reason to believe that your daughter may not be indifferent to my affections.” He cleared his throat again. “And there is no man who would value . . . indeed love your daughter more than I. Therefore, I seek your permission to . . .” He swallowed. “To marry Lady Annia.”

  There was a twinkle in Lord Tolworth’s eye and a smile on his face. “I always thought you and my Annie would suit. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see you two marry.”

  During the long carriage ride back to London, Alex had given considerable thought to the manner in which he would convey to both Lord Tolworth and to his daughter his intention of wedding her. Now he had a plan.

  Alex sighed. “I also seek your assistance in another matter. Can you see that Annie sits in the gallery of the House of Lords tomorrow?”

  Chapter Seven

  Papa had procured for her a seat in the gallery and told her a matter of great import was to be brought up that day. “You can’t miss it,” he said. “I want you there.”

  She came with her father to the White Chapel in the Palace of Westminster, and while he took his place at a front bench on the floor, she climbed the narrow staircase to the gallery and took her seat on the front row. How fortuitous. Ordinarily she was not able to obtain so good a seat.

  When the Duke of Axminster entered the chamber, something inside of her softened and squiggled. Even were he not a duke, he looked like one who was accustomed to power. Would she ever be able to look at the man and not inwardly sigh from want of him? His dark head stood out from the shorter men surrounding him. Even those men—all peers of the realm—meekened in his presence.

  Her breath grew short at the memory of being held in his arms, of kissing him.

  Once all the lords were present and seated, Alex stood and began to address the assemblage. “My esteemed colleagues, I stand here before you today to reverse myself. Since I entered this august chamber a decade ago I have consistently opposed our nation’s global expansion. Time and time again I have touted isolationism. I have opposed having our military spread across the globe at the expense of leaving our borders not fully protected. I have opposed draining our country of brilliant men who are governing distant lands where the natives’ customs differ vastly from our own. I have always maintained that Britain needs nothing from other parts of the world.

  “I was wrong.”

  Voices lifted to fill the chamber.

  “Just as a man—possibly even a duke,” he continued, pausing to look up into the gallery. Their eyes met. “Cannot exist in a vacuum, our country cannot continue to prosper if we are isolated. Just as a man can never know true happiness without a woman with whom he can share his life, our country is stronger for its connections with diverse civilizations.” He finally removed his gaze from hers.

  Her heartbeat accelerated. What did he mean possibly a duke? Or man can never know true happiness without a woman with whom he can share his life? Could he be referring to himself?

  And why had he not been able to remove his gaze from hers?

  He continued, “For it is those connections that give us our precious tea, sugar, and fine silks. It is those connections which expand our knowledge of the human race. It is those connections which give this, the greatest nation in the world, the opportunity to spread our knowledge and our vast resources to make the world a better place.

  “It is our obligation to embrace expansion—ex
pansion without bloodshed. Standing alone—whether it be a country or a man—weakens us.”

  Now his gaze returned to her. “Therefore, I stand before you today a changed man, a man committed to expanding—even to expanding my family—if it is not too late. Only you can say if I have the right.”

  The room went silent, and the other Lords followed his gaze up to the gallery and eyed her. Why wasn’t he finishing his speech? Was he waiting for some kind of response from her? Dear Lord in heaven! Was he asking her to marry him?

  She did not know what to do. She did not want to read something into his words that wasn’t there. How embarrassing it would be to make a fool of herself.

  But was it not better to risk embarrassment on the hope of becoming betrothed to the man of her dreams?

  She stood, holding on to the railing with trembling hands, her gaze riveted to his. And she nodded.

  He smiled, then looking away, he continued. “The Bible says, Be fruitful and increase in numbers. Let us, esteemed colleagues, do as the Bible instructs us. Let us embrace our fellow man—no matter where that man might originate. Let us spread our British intellect to lands near and far. Let us reap the benefits of trade. For expansion will keep us the mightiest nation on earth.”

  Once again, his gaze lifted to hers. “And it will make me the happiest man on earth.”

  * * *

  Long after the floor of the chamber cleared, long after everyone left the gallery, she sat there, dazed.

  Then he came to her. “They’ll be snuffing all the candles soon.”

  She nodded. “I suppose Papa’s waiting for me.”

  “No, your father left. He has given me permission to bring you home in my carriage.” Alex came and took both her hands in his. “He has also given me permission to ask for your hand in marriage. Was your nod what I think it was?”

  She was trembling even more now as she nodded.

  He drew her into his arms and kissed her. If possible, this kiss was even more passionate than the last.

  “I was afraid you did not find me skilled in kissing,” she whispered when they finished.