Michael laughed, “I knew you wouldn’t be a natural at needlework.” he said as he entered the room.
Elizabeth had jumped at his words, but still kept the finger in her mouth. She glared at Michael without saying anything.
“Come Elizabeth, don’t glare at me so; you can’t be perfect at everything. I’m surprised you are so mulish over such a minor insult.” Michael said, sitting next to her, forcing Elizabeth to shuffle along the seat.
“And I never thought you were full of empty flattery, it shows how we have both been wrong doesn’t it?” Elizabeth said petulantly. Violet may have explained a lot of Michael’s problems, but that did not excuse how he had hurt her.
“Touché,” Michael responded with a smile, before becoming serious. “I have a lot of explaining to do. Will you hear me?”
“Violet has told me about your father.” Elizabeth replied.
“My bloody sister!” Michael exploded. “She always appears and interferes when she is least wanted.”
“I think her appearance today was fortuitous for us both.” Elizabeth said bitterly.
“I didn’t mean what I said,” Michael responded, running his hands through his hair. “I said it to try and stem Violet’s wild ideas running away with themselves. You haven’t known her as long as I have, she has been waiting for an opportunity like today, to try and force me into marriage.”
“I don’t think she was under any illusion that marriage was the last thing on your mind. Your words were very clear,” Elizabeth said primly. She cursed inside. He still made her want him and in reality she was angry more with herself than him. She knew his words had been uttered in the heat of the moment, but they had hurt. What was annoying her now was that she wanted to be kissed by him again. She was a weak fool.
“Marriage was the last thing on my mind, but it isn’t any more. The talk I had with Violet today put my mind at rest. I know I am not at risk of going mad, no more than the next person anyway. I can finally look at life full in the face and enjoy it without the shadow hanging over me.”
Elizabeth relented a little. “I am truly happy that your mind has been put at ease. I had hoped that what you feared wasn’t as clear cut as you seemed to think.”
“No, I could hardly believe what she was telling me. I have only my foolishness to blame in not asking sooner. I should have realised that if there was madness in the family, Violet would not have risked marriage or children either,” Michael said ruefully. “I was arrogant enough to think that only I was doing the right thing.”
“I’m sure she will forgive your lack of faith in her, as I believe she is a very loving sister.” Elizabeth smiled slightly.
“I’m not sure she’ll let me forget it though,” Michael groaned. “This is not why I wanted to speak to you though. Violet’s words have major implications for us both.”
“How so?” Elizabeth asked, but her heart had begun to pound.
“This changes everything. I can look forward to a wife and children, lots of children,” Michael smiled, taking her hands in his. He absent-mindedly rubbed the finger that had been hurt.
“Lots of children?” Elizabeth asked weakly.
“Yes, lots of children. My estate is much larger than this, their mother is going to need as much help as she can get. Many hands make light work and I wouldn’t want her wearing herself out on the land, I want her full of energy in the bedroom,” Michael said.
Elizabeth flushed. “You are going to let your wife run your estate?”
“If she wants to. I would prefer to keep her in the house near me, so that I can touch her and kiss her whenever I want, but the thought of seeking her out in the fields also appeals to me. We have unfinished business in that top field.” Michael’s voice had grown husky and his eyes had gone deeper brown, but he never stopped rubbing her hands, maintaining his distance.
Elizabeth was slightly shocked at his words, but they excited her as well. The thought of being made love to outside was as appealing as it was shocking. “I think your neighbours would be scandalised,” she said, running her tongue over her suddenly dry lips.
“It’s a very large estate. No one will see,” Michael responded. “And my staff will learn to be very discreet.” He took her injured finger into his mouth and sucked gently on it. The sharp intake of breath from Elizabeth made him smile. “I want you, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth almost fell into Michael, his words and actions left her almost unable to sit upright. “Are you sure about this?” Self doubt after all their ups and downs was natural for her. She had come to doubt her own thoughts.
“I have been sure that I wanted you from the first moment I saw you bound into my house. When I didn’t even know if you had hair I wanted you. When I saw your curves heightened by those breeches you wear I wanted you. Every time you looked at me with those eyes, seeking me out to share the joke, or to rescue you from some bore, I wanted you. When I knew that I could kill if someone had hurt you I wanted you. Until my last breath I will want you, now will you please marry me?” Michael finished. He stood and pulled Elizabeth against his chest. He had intended letting her speak, but the urge to kiss her had been too great.
Elizabeth could have wept with Michael’s words, they were so touching, igniting every hope, every desire that she had tried to suppress. She leaned into his kiss, enjoying his touch. She never wanted the moment to end, but something niggled at the back of her mind. She tried to ignore it, but it wouldn’t go away. It would not go away until she was honest with Michael. She reluctantly pulled away.
“Say yes.” Michael whispered, moving in to kiss her again.
“I have to say something else first.” Elizabeth said, placing her hand flat on his chest in an attempt to stop his kisses.
“Surely it can’t be as important as this?” Michael tried to persuade her, kissing along her jawline to try and persuade her into submission.
“I haven’t been honest with you.” Elizabeth said quietly.
That got Michael’s attention. He pulled away slightly, holding Elizabeth at arms’ length. “What do you mean? What have you not been honest about?”
Elizabeth took a breath. She could be about to ruin the only chance she had of happiness with Michael, but she could not keep anything from him. “I wrote to Violet asking her about your father. My letter brought her here, I didn’t expect it to, I thought she would just write back, but it was my letter that brought her here.”
“Why did you do that?” Michael asked. His voice gave nothing away, although his posture had stiffened.
“It was after you were honest with me about why we could never be together,” Elizabeth was not babbling, but she was talking fast. She usually could interpret Michael’s expression, but she could not at the moment and it frightened her to think she could be losing him all over again. “I suppose I was being selfish. I wanted to seek the opinion of every doctor in the country to try and find a solution, a cure, but I couldn’t do that with the little information you had. I thought Violet may know more and although I knew it would inflict some pain, I thought it was important enough to contact her.”
“Behind my back?” Michael asked.
“I didn’t want to, but I knew you would never agree to speak to Violet, or you would have already had the conversation. I just needed to know what illness it was.” Elizabeth said quietly. She sounded selfish to her own ears; goodness knew what it sounded like to Michael who had wanted to avoid speaking to his sister about the madness.
“So, you hadn’t believed what I said about not marrying you, about not wanting to put you through that life?” Michael asked frowning.
“I did believe you. I know you well enough to know how stubborn you are,” this received raised eye brows from Michael, but Elizabeth carried on. “I just hated how you had taken my choice away from me. When I was in that room with George all I could think of was that if I couldn’t have you, I didn’t want to live. If he had ruined me that day I would have killed myself somehow. I’m not sayi
ng that for dramatic effect, I truly mean it. I had enough time to think about the consequences on that journey, and believe me, without you in my world, life would have been too empty. If he had ruined me, I could never have faced you again.”
“Don’t think about that day.” Michael said quietly.
“I have to, because it was the day that made me realise just how much you meant to me. I knew that I loved you by that point, but I didn’t realise how much until then. So, when you said you cared for me too, I needed to know exactly what we were going to be facing in the future!” Elizabeth said earnestly.
“What we were going to face?” Michael said raising his eyebrow.
“Yes, you could push me away, refuse to have a relationship with me, but I was somehow going to find you when you needed me. If and when the madness took hold. I was going to care for you and love you until your dying day, because that is how much you mean to me.” Elizabeth finished; feeling drained all of a sudden.
“So, you wrote to Violet?” Michael asked again.
“Yes, I’m sorry I interfered.” Elizabeth said sadly. It looked like she had lost him.
“Thank you.” Michael whispered.
“What?” Elizabeth asked in disbelief.
“Thank you. I would never have known. For however long I have left to live I can live it in peace, knowing that your stubbornness saved me from a life of misery. I want you by my side, preventing me acting so stupidly ever again; will you marry me, my darling Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth choked back a sob, before saying a quiet, but firm “Yes.”
Michael wrapped her in his arms once more and kissed her as if he was never going to stop. Elizabeth clung onto him, threading her fingers through his hair and pulling him towards her, not that he needed any encouragement.
They were disturbed by a slight cough at the door, which increased its volume when they ignored it the first time. They pulled their faces apart, resting their cheeks against each other. Violet and Edward were stood in the doorway. Edward had been the one forcing the coughs, to try to politely interrupt.
Violet looked doubtfully at her brother. “Michael?” She asked, not taking anything for granted after the greeting they had received earlier.
Michael smiled at his sister, for once looking like the cheeky young man that he was and could be in the future. “Violet, Edward, I’m glad you’re here. Elizabeth has compromised me. I think we need a special licence, in order to marry quickly. The sooner the better, before I’m completely ruined.”
The End
An Inconvenient Wife
Audrey Harrison
Dedication
This book is dedicated to a great character, Walter Reid.
I had the pleasure of working with Walter a few years ago at the National Trust. We were servants from 1913 and Walter was the butler. I have never come across a more talented butler and just had to use him in one of my books!
His humour, spontaneity and talent, made the job of the other servants so much more fun. So, although my characters are fiction, Walter is based on Walter! I hope you feel I have done you justice Walt.
Lots of love, Audrey.
Chapter 1
London January 1816
“Kiss me sir!” came the unexpected request, as Stephen was pulled into the darkened room.
He started to chuckle, thinking it was some sort of joke set up by his friends. Slender arms wrapped around his neck and pulled his head downwards. The slim figure holding onto him, pressed herself against his large frame.
“Please kiss me, hide me, please don’t let them find me!” came an urgent whisper.
Whether it was the sound of real fear in the whispering voice, or the devil in him, Stephen bent down and kissed the lips being offered. He turned his back to the door and kicked it shut, enclosing them completely in the darkness. They were hidden from the rest of the company. The noise of the party was deadened by the thick wood of the door; focusing his attention on the unexpected diversion.
He had not seen the lady accosting him, but he could tell by her voice that he did not know her. He might not always remember the name of every lightskirt he had sought pleasure from, but voices and bodies he did remember. She had sounded young and slightly frightened, which was unusual in a household connected to his acquaintance, Baron Kersal. The ‘ladies’ that attended his house parties were usually a lot older in years and ways, so it was odd to hear the voice of someone younger than normal. Although they tried to hide it, the weariness of life could often be heard in the voice of the ladies who worked there. This voice sounded frightened, desperate maybe, but not world weary, not yet anyway.
He should have resisted the kiss, the fear in her voice would have given any decent man pause, but although he did wonder about her identity, the moment her lips touched his more firmly than the hesitant touch that had first been offered, he forgot all his musings. He had never been kissed by an innocent, but he knew immediately that she was. Her kiss was tentative, delicate and yet searching, as if she was desperate to make the kiss count. He found the combination to be an unexpectedly heady mix and for a few moments he was lost to the experience, something uncurling in his stomach and filling his body with warmth. He wondered at the sensation and it was enough to bring him back to his senses.
He tried to pull back from her, he might be a devil, but he did not ruin young girls, or put himself in the position of being forced into marriage. Dallying with innocents ran the risk of unwanted and unlooked for consequences. His thoughts made him pause and move away a little, as if to release him from her hold, but his slight movement caused her to wrap her hands more firmly around his neck.
“Please,” she whispered against his lips. “I need you. Only you.”
He was lost. Never in his life had he been asked in such a heart wrenching way for anything. He had been persuaded, cajoled and even demanded of by one or two forward ladies, but never with such desperate appeal, and never for his help. Most of the ladies of his acquaintance wanted his money, jewels or worse still, marriage, but they never wanted him. He returned the kiss, gently at first, guiding her inexperience. She moaned against his mouth and he suppressed a smile, the old Halkyn charm could still work, even in the dark. He continued to plunder her mouth, using his tongue to explore every part of her. As his kiss deepened, she leaned into him even more, using his body as support.
They both paused when the door opened and the voice of Baron Kersal interrupted their kiss. “Someone’s in here. Who is it?”
The girl took a sharp intake of breath and tried to huddle into Stephen. She moved her hands from around his neck and tucked them in front of her, trying to make herself as small as possible. Stephen moved his hands slowly across her back in reassurance. “It’s Halkyn, close the door,” he snapped, not even looking back.
“Who’s with you?” the Baron demanded, “Let me see her.”
Stephen turned further away from the door. “The lady is in a state of, let’s just say, disarray. I don’t think it’s fair to put her on display for your lecherous pleasure, do you?”
The voice of another man was heard to mutter into the Baron’s ear. “Halkyn, what the hell are you doing in the dark?” the Baron asked.
“What the bloody hell do you think Kersal? Not all of us need light to have a good time, sometimes with the women you provide, light is a distinct disadvantage,” Stephen retorted, holding the girl tightly. She tried to pull away at his words, but he was not going to let her show herself because of his throwaway retort. There was obviously something going on that was not quite right, and although he had an urge to know exactly what was happening, he was not about to put his new acquaintance into whatever situation she had tried to hide from.
Stephen’s words had caused laughter to erupt behind Baron Kersal. The Baron told his associates to shut up and then turned back to Halkyn. “We are looking for my, err, niece, she shouldn’t be in this part of the house, have you seen her?”
“Does it look like I’ve seen
her?” Stephen said shortly. “Kersal, you are doing nothing to improve the ambience of this room. Unless you have a damn good reason, to continue with this interruption, can I suggest you leave us alone? I haven’t met your niece, but if she appears in here, I shall be sure to send her to you.” Again, the body in his arms stiffened, but he leant down and started to kiss her, ignoring the men standing behind him. She did not respond immediately, but within a few moments, she seemed to forget about the men stood at the door and relaxed, leaning into him again.
Stephen heard the men mutter behind him and the door was closed. It seemed his performance had convinced them. For a few moments he continued to enjoy the great deal of pleasure he was receiving from the stranger’s kiss. He had never actually wanted to continue a kiss as much as he did this one, but eventually he pulled away slightly and leant his head against her forehead.
“I think we need to become acquainted more formally,” he said, his voice husky.
“Will you send me to the Baron?” she asked in a frightened whisper.
Stephen paused before he responded. He probably should do, there was obviously something going on here that did not involve him and he should extricate himself before he added further complications to the situation. There was something about this girl though, and he was sure she was a girl. He wanted to get some light into the room, but he did not want her to become more frightened and do something that would put her at risk. He could not shake the feeling that she was in danger.
He moved his hands down her arms and took her hands in his. “I will not send you to the Baron, I am not really a gambling man, but I would be willing to wager that you are not his niece,” Stephen said gently.
An Inconvenient Trilogy - Three Regency Romances: Inconvenient Ward, Wife, Companion - all published separately on Kindle and paperback Page 21
