“That was most exhilarating!” Mara exclaimed.
“I think I hurt something important rushing here bareback,” Jake replied.
They stood facing each other, holding hands. He bent to kiss her deeply. Moments like this were rare these days.
He finished his kiss and pulled her down on the bench. “We can’t stay long. They will come looking.”
“I know. I just wanted to be with you for a few minutes without people around. I feel so overwhelmed these days. I mean, we are really going through with this and if frightens me so.” Mara gave a deep sigh.
Jake tried to sound braver than he felt. “I promise we will be okay. We have planned this operation to the minutest detail. We are handling it well.”
They spent another few minutes kissing and holding each other before Jake stood up. “I love you,” he whispered.
He bent down to give her one last kiss before untying Zeus and in less than twenty minutes after arriving in the cemetery, he headed out to “look for her” in the wild streets of London.
Jake bent down to give her one last kiss before untying Zeus, and in less than twenty minutes after arriving at the cemetery, he was heading out to “look for her” in the wild streets of London.
Pretending to search for her, Jake asked people along the way if they had seen a woman with red hair and a purple dress on a bay horse come this way. Of course, no one had, but Jake needed to keep up the pretense.
He was bending over talking loudly to an old woman who couldn’t hear well when he heard someone shout, “Abbot! Abbot!”
Blimey, he thought, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest in fright. It’s Lord Markham! He didn’t go to the dinner party? How long has he been out here?
“M’lord,” Jake replied, “I am so sorry, but I haven’t found her yet. I have asked every street vendor from here to Berkshire Square covering all west of the house. I am about to go to the north and begin again.”
“I just came from the north, and I, too, had no luck.” He eyed the younger man sitting bareback on his steed. “Can I at least have my horse back, Abbot?”
Jake looked down at Zeus in faked surprise. “Oh, of course, sir. I only grabbed the first horse I came to in the stables. Forgive me, m’lord for taking yours.”
“No harm done, I guess. Pull this saddle off.” The two of them switched horses, giving passersby something to whisper about, since grown gentlemen didn’t generally swap horses in the middle of the street. Jake was soon bareback on Peaches, Markham comfortably back in his saddle on his horse.
“I suggest, Abbot, that you take the south now and I will go east. Someone had to have noticed a beautiful girl in purple by herself.
“Good idea, sir.” He turned and went south of the house to continue the facade.
An hour later, as dusk grew into night, a weary Markham returned through his gates to find Alvin brushing Hebe.
“She’s back!”
“Yes, m’lord, about ten minutes ago. Says she ‘ad found a lovely spot to read—just needed to get away for a while. I gave her a piece of my mind, as she gave the entire staff the scare of our lives.”
“Good for you. I think I will give her a piece of my mind too. Is Abbot back?”
“No, m’lord but I doubt he’ll stay out much longer now that it is dark.”
“Brush Zeus when you’ve finished Hebe.”
“Of course, Lord Markham.”
A few minutes later, Jake arrived home. “She’s back!” he exclaimed, continuing to act the part.
“Yup!” sighed Alvin, irritated to be repeating a whole conversation. “’Bout fifteen minutes ago. She had found a spot somewhere to read and get away. I told her off already, and her father’s about to do the same. You wanna piece of her too? You gonna have to wait in line!”
“Yeah, I want a piece of her…” he smiled, as he turned away from Alvin. It was now his turn to take care of the three horses.
*****
Gigi set a plate of food in front of Mara, who calmly sat at the dinner table when her father stormed into the room.
“Father!” Mara was very surprised and frightened. He was supposed to be at the Marquis and Marchioness of Rockingham’s dinner party! What was he doing home?
“Gigi, leave us, and close the door.”
Gigi bowed and left in a hurry.
“What in God’s name do you think you are doing, girl? How foolish to run off into the streets of London alone in approaching darkness! Are you just dimwitted, or are you asking for trouble?” Markham practically screamed, making Mara cringe in her seat.
“Do you know what could happen to you out there? You had Abbot and me running circles around London looking for you, without regard to my evening plans. How dare you behave so recklessly just before your wedding! Are you trying to ruin everything I have worked for?” He stopped suddenly, realizing the strategic mistake he had just made.
Mara slammed down her knife and fork and stood up to her father, no longer frightened. “Ruin everything you have worked for? You have worked for?” She moved closer to him.
“Oh, it is becoming clear to me now. I am not a daughter to you. I am simply the next deal, the next investment. Well, Father,”—she spat out the word father—“I am not chattel to be bought and sold to the highest bidder. Is that why I am becoming a duchess?”
The floodgates opened, and Mara poured out the emotions that had built up from a lifetime of her father’s mistreatment. “You are so bloody determined to have a title in the family that you don’t care who you destroy in the process! So tell me,” she screamed, remembering her conversation with Lady Sarah Hastings about being sold into marriage. “The Duke of Cleveland was the highest bidder? The best deal maker? Offered the best price for my head? Well, I guess you can’t do much better than a duke, since the king of England happens to be taken!”
“No, that is not the way it is…”
“Don’t lie to me! I have never been anything to you! I will never be anything to you!” She paused, hoping he would deny it, but he remained silent.
Tears formed and slowly rolled down her cheeks. “At least when I am the Duchess of Cleveland, I won’t be a damned Markham anymore! I hate you! I hate everything you are, and what you stand for. I HATE YOU!” Mara turned and ran out of the dining room and up the stairs to her room, slamming the door behind her.
Markham stood for a few moments in the dining room, his daughter’s words of truth reverberating around the walls. He turned on his heels and walked briskly out of the house to the stables, yelling for Abbot.
Jake had just finished putting away the tack when he heard the master call. Now what? he thought.
“Sir, I am here. How may I serve you?”
“Saddle my horse. I am going out!”
Trying not to roll his eyes, Jake pulled the tack back off the wall and saddled the newly brushed Zeus. “I know, boy, I know.” He patted the confused horse.
Markham mounted Zeus, and rode out the gate to the nearest club. Tonight was a good night for libations.
Chapter 36
One week before the wedding, they finished packing the crates. All wedding gifts had arrived, and Mara, Cecilia, and the boys had carefully counted and catalogued each one. The thank-you cards had been written, and were in a box in the parlor, ready for Termins to send out the day before the wedding. The duke rented eight horses, all of solid quality, and four coachmen to drive the wagons to Barnard Castle, the duke’s country estate. The coachmen would travel from London to High Force, towards Darlington, and past Raby Castle on the way there.
They were instructed to spend the night in a little tavern at A Fall of the Tees, a sleepy little burg along the route.
The four coachmen left London with their precious cargo on a trip that should take about a week.
On the second night, they made it to the tavern in A Fall of the Tees. There they met two very happy and generous blokes, one huge and one little, both grungy and bearded, who offered to buy a round.
>
“Hey, mateys! Where you be heading?” the big one asked.
“Barnard Castle,” replied the one named Martin. “This here be Marlon and Ellery. Aithley is out back doing his business.”
They all laughed. “My name is Gus, this be Chuck. We be headed into London. Gotta find us some proper work, we do.”
“Gotta find us some proper women, we do!” Chuck slammed down his tankard, and they all laughed some more.
Aithley soon joined them, and the six men sat down to some serious drinking, no one noticing that Gus and Chuck nursed the same pint all night long.
By the time midnight rolled around, the six were singing bawdy tavern songs and hanging off each other, barely able to walk. The tavern owner watched over them delighted, as this was the best night he’d had all week. Let them drink!
Gus helped Marlon and Martin out the door, having no problem handling two of them due to his size and strength. Chuck carried one of the men over his shoulder, and promised to return for the other in a minute.
By the time Luke arrived back at the wagons, Pete had already loaded his two passengers in the space left for a trunk. Pete heaved Ellery in the other wagon, and went back for Aithley. They then waited in the dark for the tavern master to turn off all the lights and go up to bed.
In the moonlight, they silently pulled the eight horses out of the barn, hitched them back up, and drove the two coaches back toward London, taking a completely different route.
They tied up the four men in the early hours of the morning and dropped them off, blindfolded, at a farmhouse. The farmer and his wife promised to keep them tied up until June 5th in exchange for £15—a fortune to the poor family. They’d keep them in the barn, feed them, then blindfold them again and take them out somewhere to be found. The men would spend the rest of their lives telling their sorry tale.
When they entered London, Luke and Pete drove the wagons to the docks to be loaded onto the ship. Then they went straight to a tavern to sleep. They had to be completely refreshed for the roles they would play in a few days.
Chapter 37
As the wedding day approached, Mara still had many details to attend to. She often had to go to town to deal with this matter or that, and she and Jake used these occasions to find stolen moments to share. On the day of Mara’s final dress fitting, Jake drove her and Cecilia to the couturier. However, instead of going straight there, he pulled up in front of a large church with a magnificent bell tower. He dismounted and opened the door for Mara. He heard her trying to explain to Cecilia why they were making this unscheduled stop.
“Cecilia, please. Just thirty minutes. Jake and I never have any time for each other. When we are together at home, all we do is talk about the escape. We just want to find a little space in the church to talk about other things and hold hands. Please, just stay in the coach for a little while.”
“In a church?” Cecilia looked out the door and up at the church. “Well, I guess that would be all right. You can’t find too much trouble in a church with God and the priest watching you. Go along. Thirty minutes, my dear. Not a minute longer, as we do have an appointment with Madame Le Strange.”
Mara gave her maid a quick hug and climbed out of the carriage.
Jake, careful not to touch her in public, followed her up the steps to the church, opened the large front door and bowed in servitude as she entered. He quickly followed her, pulling her off to a side staircase in the foyer instead of the main cathedral.
“Where are we going?” she whispered.
“Up. Way up.”
They climbed the spiral stone staircase in silence, passing landings and other doors that led off to secret spaces in the church. At last they could go no higher, and Jake pushed up on a trap door in the low ceiling. He then lifted Mara through the hole and pulled himself up after her.
Mara was spellbound. They were in the bell tower, high above the city, and she could see forever. It took her breath away.
“Oh, Jake,” she exclaimed, “this is incredible!”
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and stood there looking at the magnificent sight, holding the woman he loved.
“I painted it just for you, my darling.”
She closed her eyes and breathed in the air of London, listening to the faint sounds of the city, feeling the strength of his arms around her and his chest behind her. She turned in his arms and hugged him tight. They were so close to the wedding and the kidnapping and she needed to hold onto Jake for strength.
Jake put his hand under her chin to pull her into a deep passionate kiss. Mara closed her eyes and let her mind and soul live in the moment. This is why she was born, to be with this man forever, to love this man, to be his wife and bear his children. This is why she was committing the crimes they had planned. This was making it all worth it.
Mara opened her eyes, reluctant to break the spell. She looked into his eyes to see her own amazing thoughts and feelings reflected in their hazel depths. How she was lucky enough to find her soul mate, she’d never know. God had granted her a miracle and its name was Jacob.
Chapter 38
The final fitting with Madame Le Strange went very well, the gown made perfectly to Lady Mara’s very odd specifications. Madame Le Strange knew to keep these matters confidential, so as not to damage her business, which included keeping quiet about the personal doings of her clientele. Plus, making the wedding dress for the new Duchess of Cleveland would be a tremendous boon to her business! Once people saw this vision of loveliness walk down the aisle, they would flock to her store. In addition, Lady Mara paid for a series of day gowns and split riding skirts. The items were unusual in their plainness and utility, but every lady had her quirks. And who was she to question these quirks or gossip about them?
*****
While Mara was at the fitting, Jake sold the other three emeralds. They fetched £94. He was more collected this time, knowing what to expect.
When they returned to the house, he put £10 in an envelope with a letter, addressed it to a warehouse manager, and rode Python to the block in which the manager’s office was located. He found a young boy, gave him a couple of shillings, and watched him from around the corner deliver it to the man.
Done.
Chapter 39
The wedding day dawned, a beautiful morning in early June. Mara awoke early in the morning, the nervous tension too much for her to bear. She paced and bit her nails, but forced herself to eat a good breakfast, knowing she would not be eating lunch. Her mother attributed her behavior to pre-wedding jitters, as she remembered how nervous she had been on her wedding day. Mara, however, wasn’t even thinking of the wedding. It and the duke were the last things on her mind. Instead, she thought about all the details of the kidnapping.
She found it hard to wait.
The wedding would be at noon, followed by a sumptuous and expensive luncheon at Strafford House. The carriage carrying the bride, her two bridesmaids, her mother and aunt, and her ladies’ maid would leave the house at eleven-fifteen in order to arrive at the church right on time. The coachman and footman would both be with the bride.
Her bridesmaids—the duke’s grown daughters, April and May (he always rolled his eyes at his first wife’s perverse sense of humor)—had spent the night with their own husbands at the Markham estate, as had Viscount Rochdale and his family. The house was quite full.
The men would go ahead, to take a drink or two at the club down the street from the cathedral before the big event, their valets completing their dressing at the club. The Markham sons would take the phaeton, their father would ride Zeus, and the guests would arrive in various conveyances they owned.
By nine in the morning, Mara sat at her dresser, allowing Cecilia to style her hair. Lady May insisted on helping, and was actually quite an artist when it came to taming Mara’s wild tresses. They pulled and brushed and pinned and coaxed until Mara didn’t even recognize herself in the mirror. Her hair was up in an intricate French knot, sprinkled wi
th little white flowers and pins with real diamonds on the ends—the same pins her mother wore on her wedding day. A few tendrils were allowed loose around her face and neck to soften the French knot. The final piece was the small tiara that would also form the base of her veil. The look was stunning.
“Thank you, Lady May. I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life.”
“You are welcome, Mara. I still don’t approve of Father marrying someone so young, but I don’t want the peerage to think you aren’t welcome in our family.”
That was as close to a welcome as Mara would receive. She wouldn’t be thrilled either if their roles were reversed.
After Lady May left, Cecilia closed and locked the door. She turned around and took a deep breath, letting it out in a rush.
“Are you sure we are ready for this? What if something goes wrong?”
“Too late to stop now, Cecilia. Come, help me dress.” She already wore her camisole, bloomers, stockings, and shoes. She now had to put on the pocketed petticoat and then the dress itself.
Madame Le Strange had done a wonderful job on the wedding gown. It was a thing of beauty, as well as a mechanical work of art. The outer material was pure white satin, soft and creamy. The bodice was subtly beaded in the design of calla lilies, just enough to add depth and interest. The satin skirt was overlaid with fine lace, attached at certain points with dangling glass beads and real pearls, adding the shimmering look of rain drops. The sleeves were made of the same sheer lace that came to a point on the back of Mara’s hands.
The design of the dress was ingenious; it could be turned into a completely different outfit in minutes. At the waist was a wide satin ribbon, embroidered with the same calla lilies in a fine gold thread. The ribbon was not only ornamental but also hid a series of hooks underneath that held the flaps in place. From each side seam to the back, the dress was actually folded in half, with an extra amount of material underneath. Down the back of the skirt was another wide ribbon to match the one around the waist that also hid a series of hooks. The veil would cover this well.
Mara: A Georgian Romance Page 20
