by Joan Wolf
His mouth was next to my ear as he said, “Meeting you—it was like a cleansing wind had come into my life, blowing away all the debris of the past. For the first time in years I felt truly happy. I had this lovely, honest, enchanting girl in my life. But I had forced you to come to Camden. When I thought about it, I had virtually kidnapped you a second time. How could I think you would want to stay with me when your life in France had been so happy? I was afraid to speak to you; afraid I would drive you away from me if I did. But the fury I felt at Roger’s daring to attack you, the relief I felt at having been in time to save you. I didn’t think…I just acted.” He paused, gave a short laugh, and said, “And now, here I am, trying to explain to you why I kissed you last night.”
I said, “I would like to kill this Catherine. I would like to cut her up into little pieces and throw them to the dogs in my Papa’s circus. She stole ten years of your life from you. She…”
I never got to finish that sentence because Leo’s mouth came down on mine and before I knew it we were lying on the rough sand and I was so swamped by my emotions, by the feel of his hair under my fingers, the smell of his skin, the touch of his hand on my breast….
I don’t know how we would have ended up if it weren’t for the insistent whinnying of Alonzo. I was the one who heard him, and I struggled under Leo’s weight. He rolled away immediately and we both looked at my horse, who was rolling his eyes, whinnying and snorting and pawing the ground.
I went to calm him with my heart still racing from Leo’s touch. “What’s wrong, boy?” I said soothingly. “Did you see a snake?” I was running my fingers along his neck under his mane. He seemed to be calming down.
Alonzo’s alarm had infected Silver Boy and Leo was soothing his own horse. When both animals were grazing again Leo took my hand and moved us away from them. He said, “It’s a good thing he distracted us. I don’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t. Just the feel of you under me was making me lose control.”
I felt the blood rush into my face. He smiled and said softly, “Well, Isabel. What is your decision? Will you marry me?”
I couldn’t answer. If I married Leo I would be deserting Papa. How could I do that? But how could I leave Leo? He was the man for me. My heart knew that. My body knew that. My whole being knew that. How could I give him up?
“Leo…what about my Papa? I don’t think I can bear to leave him alone.”
“I know that, sweetheart. And I know you have been worrying about him getting older and the circus being too much for him. I think I might have an answer that would suit the both of you.”
“Tell me!”
He smiled and reached out to tuck a lock of loose hair behind my ear. “I’ve been thinking about this ever since I saw you ride at Astley’s. As you point out to me all the time,” one golden eyebrow arched, “we English don’t know how to ride the way you do in France. We also don’t have the kind of horses you have in France. What I would like to do is to create a stud here at Camden to breed the sort of horse suitable to your kind of equitation, and I would like to find a trainer to teach your sort of riding.”
I stared at him, amazed. He had never said a word about this to me.
He continued, “I was hoping you would allow me to breed Alonzo to some appropriate mares, and I was hoping your father would act as my manager and trainer. Do you think he might be interested?”
“Yes!” I said immediately. “I think he would be very interested!” My brain was still trying to take in what Leo had said. Papa could live at Camden with us!
Leo put his hand under my chin and tipped my face up to his. His blue eyes held mine, and my heart leaped at the expression in them. “Under those circumstances, will you marry me Isabel?”
I opened my mouth to say yes, but what came out instead was, “Would you pay Papa a good salary?”
He started to laugh.
He was still tipping my face up to his. I tried not to smile, but I couldn’t help it. I said, “I know. I know. The French and money.”
“Everyone thinks of money, sweetheart,” he said. “It’s the French who are bold enough to admit their cupidity. And if your father will accept my offer, I will pay him a princely salary.”
He was the most wonderful man in the world, and I was so happy I thought I just might float off the ground. “Yes,” I said. “Yes, yes, yes! I love you with all my heart, Leo, and I will be happy to marry you.”
He bent his face closer to mine. “May I kiss my fiancée?”
“You may,” I replied.
Kissing Leo. I could spend the rest of my life just kissing Leo. His mouth covered mine and I leaned against him, loving the feel of his hard body against mine. He kept kissing me and kissing me, and when the force of his kisses bent my neck back, he put one hand behind my head to support it and the other hand came up to cover my breast. My heart was beating so hard I could feel it, and my knees were so weak that I had to lean harder against Leo to remain standing.
Then I was pushed out of paradise. I stood blinking up at Leo as he held me away from him. “God Almighty, Isabel, if this continues I can’t answer for the consequences.” His voice came out as a croak.
A lock of his hair had fallen across his forehead and I wanted to reach up and smooth it away but I knew that I shouldn’t. Not yet at least.
The ride home was quiet. We neither of us felt the need to talk. Our bodies had spoken for us and that was enough for now.
Chapter Nineteen
The family, with the exception of Margaret, was gathered in the drawing room before dinner when Leo rose to his feet. He stood directly under the portrait of our great-grandmother as he said, “May I have everyone’s attention? I have an important announcement to make.”
My heart jumped and I cast a quick look around the room. Everyone was staring at Leo as if he was the archangel Gabriel sent down from heaven to impart a celestial message. Leo sent me a quick reassuring smile and I had to look down at my hands to hide my face. Mother, who had caught the smile, glanced at me in surprise.
Leo sounded as calm as if he were announcing a mere change in the dinner menu as he said, “I have asked Isabel to marry me and she has accepted. We have not yet sorted out the particulars of when or where, except that I want it to be soon.”
He smiled at me again and my heart began to race so hard the ribbon on my bodice trembled.
Shocked silence greeted Leo’s words; then everyone began to talk at once. My mother reached out and hugged me to her. “My dear, dear child,” she said. “Nothing could have made me happier than this news.” She released me reluctantly and smiled radiantly. There were tears in her eyes. “Now I will never lose you again.”
The first voice to rise above the amazed exclamations belonged, of course, to Aunt Augusta. “Well done, Leo. We have become so fond of Isabel.” And she looked at me and smiled.
I was stunned. I always thought she disapproved of me.
Everyone was standing up now, going up to Leo to shake his hand and coming to kiss my cheek. Over Aunt Jane’s shoulder I caught a glimpse of Robert grinning at his brother and Leo grinning back. For a brief moment they looked like the small boys they must once have been.
Then my brother appeared in the doorway.
“What’s this?” he asked as he entered the drawing room.
Every head snapped around. Leo took charge, saying pleasantly, “Ah Mansfield. You are in time to congratulate me. I have just announced that Isabel and I are to be married.”
“Married?” My brother’s face got very red as he looked from me to Leo. “You and Isabel? Oh no, Camden.” His voice grew louder as he repeated, “No, No, and No. If you think you can cheat me out of my father’s money by marrying Isabel, think again. I won’t allow it!”
He was dressed for dinner in correct black coat and pantaloons, with his white neck cloth arranged in a stylish but restrained fashion. His long dark hair was brushed neatly back from his handsome face. He might be garbed in the clothes of a civiliz
ed man, but the expression on his face was savage. By the time he said, “I won’t allow it!” he was shouting.
Leo lifted an eyebrow and replied in the same pleasant voice as before, “You have nothing to say in the matter, Mansfield.”
“Oh yes I do! If Isabel is who you claim she is, she is my younger sister and under the law I am her guardian. She cannot marry anyone without my permission and I most definitely do not give my permission for her to marry you, Camden!”
At this I jumped to my feet. “You are not my guardian, you…you…scelerat!” I was so furious I struggled to get the words out. “If I want to marry Leo, I will. I do not need you to decide for me. I decide for myself!”
Henry’s eyes narrowed as they met mine. “If you want to legally declare that you are not my sister, that will be fine with me. If you do that, you will have to give up all claims to the money my father left, and I will make no objection.”
He looked from me to Leo and the expression on his face frightened me. He said, “I might have known you’d find a way to get your hands on my father’s money, Cousin. You can marry her if you want but you’ll have to present her to the world as a little circus girl with French peasants for parents. Because that’s the only way you’ll get to marry her, Leo. I can promise you that.”
I was so furious I was shaking. “You will never get your hands on my money,” I said in a trembling voice. “My father left it that way just so you could not have it. It belongs to me and I am going to give it to my Papa!”
Henry’s eyes never moved from Leo. “You can’t marry her any other way,” he said. “I won’t allow it.”
He spun around and walked out of the room.
I ran to Leo. He put his arm around me and I pressed against his side. “He can’t do what he says, can he?” I asked.
From behind me Aunt Augusta said, “You can’t take this to the courts, Leo. Think of the scandal.”
I felt Leo’s lips gently touch my hair. “Don’t let him upset you, Isabel. We’ll find a way out of this, I promise.”
Susan said, “You could just give the money to Mansfield, Isabel. If you’re marrying Leo, you won’t need it.”
I stiffened and Leo’s arm tightened around me. He said over my head, “I suggest we go into dinner and put this incident behind us. I promise you that Mansfield is not going to stop my marriage to Isabel, but you must leave the resolution of this problem to me.”
We proceeded as usual into the dining room. Before we were served, however, Leo spoke to Hobbs. “I am sure you will be pleased to hear, Hobbs, that Lady Isabel has honored me by accepting my hand in marriage.”
Hobbs almost dropped the wine glass he was holding. “Why…that is very good news, my lord.” He gave me a lovely smile. “All of the staff will be delighted to know you will be remaining with us, Lady Isabel.”
I smiled back. “Thank you, Hobbs.”
He frowned at poor William who was standing next to the side table with his mouth open. William blushed and hurried to fill our glasses.
Conversation began with a discussion of the weather—a favorite English topic. As the conversation continued, I looked around the table. My English family might belong to a class I had been brought up to despise, but they were not like the French aristocrats who had deserved to have their heads cut off. In the time I had been at Camden Hall I had met Leo’s tenants and seen their farms. Yes, his tenants worked hard, but they were well fed and well housed. Some of the families had worked the same farm for hundreds of years. The only difference between them and the farmers who lived around us in France was that the farmers I knew owned their land while Leo’s tenants leased theirs. But Leo’s tenants didn’t have to worry about having to find the money for a new roof; all they had to do was ask Robert. I met my mother’s eyes from across the table and I realized suddenly that I was proud to belong to such a family.
*
As usual we ladies retired to the drawing room leaving Leo, Robert and Sir John to their port. As soon as we were in the hallway, Susan grabbed my arm. “I have something I need to show you, Isabel,” she said urgently. “It’s in my room.”
Aunt Augusta frowned. “Nonsense, Susan. What can you have to show Isabel? You cannot take her away from us on such an important occasion.”
“We’ll be right back, Aunt Augusta.” Susan looked beseechingly at her mother.
“Let the girls have a little time to themselves,” Aunt Jane said, smiling at Aunt Augusta. My mother agreed and Susan practically dragged me down the hallway.
“I don’t have anything to show you, of course,” she said when we were out of Aunt Augusta’s hearing range. “Let’s go to your sitting room. I want to know all about how you came to be engaged to Leo!”
There was no fire and my sitting room was chilly, but I kept some shawls there and handed one to Susan. We sat on the sofa, both of us huddled into the warm wool, and Susan said, “You never said a word to me about Leo and you!”
“You knew—everyone knew—that we were spending a lot of time together.” I shrugged elaborately. “We got to know each other and to like each other and he asked me to marry him and I said yes.”
Susan rolled her eyes. “Isabel, you have just landed the biggest catch on England’s marriage mart. You must have more to say than that! He could have had anyone. Anyone. And he chose you! Aren’t you thrilled?”
My voice was not quite steady as I answered, “If Leo were a French farmer, I would be thrilled. I know how to be a farmer’s wife. I don’t know how to be an earl’s wife.” I bit my lip and confided my misgiving to her. “I don’t want to embarrass him by doing the wrong thing.”
Susan said earnestly, “But don’t you see, Isabel, that’s why Leo fell in love with you. You’re…well…you’re different. You look at people and see the person, not the class. You’d rather spend time with Stoddard than with a duke! I am happy I’m the daughter of a viscount. You are happy you’re the daughter of a circus owner. Leo loves you for who you are, Isabel.”
I stared at the old blue wool rug, trying to grasp what Susan was telling me. She saw my confusion and reached over to take my hand. “There is something about you, Isabel—a vitality, a self-confidence, a courage—that is enormously attractive. It’s what made Leo put aside his love for his lost wife and turn to you.”
I thought about what Leo had told me about his “lost wife,” and stifled the impulse to tell Susan the truth. Leo had trusted me, and I would never betray him. I’d rather die, I thought, dramatically perhaps, but honestly.
“Susan.” I removed my eyes from the rug and looked at her. “Thank you.” I felt tears coming to my eyes and didn’t even try to blink them away. “You are a good friend. Thank you for helping me.”
“You’re welcome, Isabel. I think you’re perfectly splendid and I’m so glad you’re marrying Leo. We all love him, you know.” Her face became solemn. “There is, however, one aspect of this marriage that you should consider carefully before you go through with it.”
I blinked. After all she had said… “What is it?” I asked nervously.
“You will have to live with Aunt Augusta.”
It took a moment for her words to register in my brain, but when they did I laughed. “I did think of that, and I am prepared to suffer Aunt Augusta,” I said. “For Leo.”
A soft knock sounded on the door and Freddy, one of the footmen, put his head around it. “I am sorry to bother you, my lady, but Lady Augusta sent me to ask you to come to the drawing room.”
Susan and I gave each other meaningful looks.
“For Leo,” we said together, laughed, and prepared to return to the rest of the family.
Chapter Twenty
The day after Leo’s announcement he and I drove into Lambourn to see James Sinclair, the solicitor who was in charge of the trust my father had left for me. I had accompanied Leo on a previous visit to Mr. Sinclair when Leo had directed the solicitor to file whatever paperwork was necessary to establish my legal identity.
> We had no appointment this day, but the moment Leo walked into the waiting room we were escorted past the people sitting there and into the inner sanctum of the solicitor’s office. Mr. Sinclair was a frail, elderly man, but his voice was deep and strong when he greeted us. After we were seated Leo exchanged pleasantries with the solicitor while I glanced around the room. There was scarcely any plaster showing as three of the walls were lined with packed bookcases. The fourth wall sported a painting of a spaniel. The room smelled of tobacco and, as before, I saw a wooden pipe on the desk.
The pleasantries done with, Leo said, “I have asked Lady Isabel to marry me and she has accepted.”
Mr. Sinclair’s brown eyes opened wide in surprise and, after a tiny pause, he began to offer Leo congratulations. Leo thanked him and said, “We are here because a problem has arisen. Lord Mansfield has informed me that since Lady Isabel has not yet reached the age of majority, he as her elder brother, has authority over her decisions. He has further stated that he will not give his permission for the marriage unless Lady Isabel gives up her rights to the trust and turns the money over to him.”
Mr. Sinclair had been listening intently and now he leaned back in his chair, tenting his narrow hands in front of his chest. “This is interesting news, my lord, particularly since Lord Mansfield called here a few weeks ago to inform me he did not believe that the young woman residing at Camden Hall was his sister. He intimated that she might be a by-blow of some other member of the Sommer family and not connected to the Mansfields at all. Given that she was an imposter, he insisted that the trust money belonged to him.”
Leo’s hand closed into a fist, but he didn’t say anything.
The solicitor continued, “I told him I believed there was sufficient evidence to testify to Lady Isabel’s legitimacy. There was your evidence about the discussion you had with her foster father, which clearly points to the likelihood of Lady Isabel’s birth. There is also her extraordinary resemblance to the portrait of your great-grandmother, and the fact that your family has so warmly embraced her. I told Lord Mansfield it would be very expensive to try to overturn the trust and he would most certainly fail in the end. You are well known for the acuteness of your brain, my lord, and there are very few who will believe you have been duped.”
