In the afternoon, Jenny and Beth walked back from the river where Geoffrey now restored to health, gamboled, and basked in his freedom. An elegant coach stood on the sweep before the house, and a tall dark haired man had just alighted.
Jenny picked up her skirts and began to run across the damp grass.
“Jenny! Who is it?” Beth cried as she ran after her.
“Andrew George William Hale, Duke of Harrow,” Jenny called back breathlessly. Her bonnet fell off and dangled by its ribbons as she leapt over the garden bed onto the gravel drive.
His Grace turned and saw her, and removed his curly beaver hat, smoothing his dark hair.
Jenny slowed her pace, her heart galloping, joy at seeing him for a mad moment blotting out every shred of common sense. But then she slowed.
She set her bonnet back on her head. Why had he come?
Breathless, she stopped and took him in, so elegant in his multi-caped greatcoat and polished hessians. “Your Grace.”
His blue eyes pieced the distance between them. “Miss Harrismith. Might I have a word?”
He sounded so formal. She nodded mutely fighting to compose herself.
His Grace gestured with his hand. “Shall we walk?”
They strolled down the carriage drive beneath the avenue of trees. “I find myself curious as to why you left Castlebridge in such a hurry which you failed to address in your letter. And this somewhat rushed engagement. Did you always intend to marry Mr. Judd?”
She stared at him horrified. Did he believe she took the position to draw a reluctant proposal from Judd? Or was he here merely to condemn her for leaving his children? She sobered. “You shouldn’t ask me that, Your Grace.”
“But I am asking you,” he said abruptly. “It’s important that I know.”
Jenny’s throat tightened with suppressed tears. “I’m not in love with Mr. Judd, I have never been in love with him, and I did not foresee an engagement when I came to Castlebridge.” She supposed she sounded bitter because he raised his eyebrows.
“I’m sure I will learn more of this later.” He studied her thoughtfully, sending her pulse drumming along her veins again. “It is not why I came.”
“Why then?” She waited for his criticism as she sank to her lowest ebb, yearning to run back to the house to her bedchamber, and pull the covers over her head. At the gamut of perplexed emotions, she stepped back away from him.
Two strides brought him closer. “I want you to return to Castlebridge, Jenny.”
“Why?” she asked in dazed exasperation.
His eyes darkened with emotion. “Why? Because you’ve come to mean a lot to me, and the children.”
She faltered, a refusal on her lips. Even suppose she could accept a life with him in it, loving him, while knowing she was there solely for his children, she couldn’t leave Bella to her fate. She wouldn’t.
He stared down at her, doubt in his eyes, which was so unlike him. He’d always been so confident, and autocratic, but that was understandable, he was a duke after all. “Dare I hope you might feel some affection for me? That you might choose me instead of Mr. Judd? And come back to Castlebridge as my wife?”
She opened her mouth in surprise. “Marry you?” Jenny feared she’d misheard him. That she’d dreamed him up again. She gazed up at him, the man she’d come to care more for than life itself. He hadn’t said he loved her. For a moment she couldn’t think. “I would, Your Grace, but there’s Bella!”
“Your sister? What about Bella?”
She hesitated, torn by conflicting emotions. “I can’t leave again. Bella was going to marry Mr. Judd, and then I said I would…” She tried to explain while he patiently listened. A shortened version of the truth. How she didn’t trust Judd and would not let Bella marry him. His eyes narrowed.
He raised an eyebrow. “So you will marry him instead?”
She merely nodded. She couldn’t put into words that she was better able to handle Judd.
“Will you leave that to me, Jenny?”
Could she risk Bella’s future happiness? Her father was so unpredictable. Papa had so much pride, she suspected it was the reason he forbade Bella from marrying Glyn. Warmed by her love for His Grace, she gazed at the handsome man before her. She was supremely confident that he would set all to rights. Was it unreasonable of her to want his love? How she wished to hear him say those words. “You will protect Bella and Beth?”
He took her hands, his eyes filled with emotion. “Oh, Jenny love, of course I will. I give you that promise.”
She was suddenly blissfully happy. “I will marry you, Your Grace. I have been miserable away from the children, and Castlebridge.” She wanted to say so much more, but held back, uncertain. “It had become my home, you see.”
“My name is Andrew, Jenny.” He opened his arms, and she stepped into his strong embrace. Murmuring her name he raised her chin and kissed her.
“So it’s my charming children that most appeal?” His amused voice rumbled against her cheek.
“I do miss William and Barbara most dreadfully, I’m so very fond of them.”
He pulled back and raised her chin with a finger, his eyes searching hers. “Spare a little of that for me too, Jenny?”
She smiled up at him. “Oh, yes, Andrew.”
His passionate glance sent heat rushing through her. “I like the sound of my name on your lips.” He kissed her again. The lightest of caresses before he drew away with a sigh and ruefully shook his head. “This is not how it should be done. I must speak to your father. Is the Baron at home?”
“Papa’s in the library.” She slipped her hand in his and drew him along the driveway to the house. “I’m afraid this will be quite a shock to him. He was about to place a notice of my engagement to Mr. Judd in the newspaper.”
He glanced around at the gardens taking note of the disorder. “I’m sure your Papa will come to see the sense of our union.”
“My father has unusual notions,” she said uneasily. “One cannot always be sure of him. I suspect Mr. Judd holds Papa in thrall due to their shared interest in Medieval poetry.”
“I’ll make him see sense, Jenny. Surely the safety of his children is paramount.”
They strolled up to the house where her sister waited, mouth agape. “Beth, I should like to introduce you to His Grace, Duke of Harrow.”
Beth sank into a curtsy. “How do you do, Your Grace.” As they continued up the steps, Beth moved closer to Jenny. “Aren’t you marrying Mr. Judd?” she whispered. When Jenny shook her head, Beth smiled. “I’m glad. I don’t like him.”
Jenny smiled mischievously at Andrew as they approached the front door. “You have just missed out on meeting Geoffrey.”
He raised his eyebrows, his eyes gleaming. “Geoffrey?”
“We returned Beth’s orphaned otter cub to the river this morning.”
He winked at Beth. “I am sorry not to have witnessed that.”
“I’m sure there will be other times, Beth rescues all sorts of animals.” Jenny was floating, a little disbelieving, while fearing someone would pinch her and make her wake. But she came down with a thump at the sight of her father’s face as he waited for them in the entry hall.
She hastily introduced them. Andrew, the very essence of grace and civility greeted her father warmly. Then he turned to her. “I should like to speak to your father alone, Jenny.”
“You call my daughter by her given name?” Papa gestured down the corridor. “You’d best come into the library then, Your Grace.”
The door shut behind them as Bella came quickly down the stairs. “Whose carriage is…”
With a whoop, Jenny ran to hug her. “Andrew has asked me to marry him, and of course I’ve said yes!”
Bella laughed, but raised her eyebrows in inquiry at Beth who stood by smiling. “Has Jenny lost her reason? Is Andrew who I think it is?”
“The duke.” Beth nodded with a grin. “He kissed Jenny. And he’s awfully handsome!”
Bella
drew in a sharp breath. “My goodness, Jenny. You never led me to believe for a moment that it was a love match.”
Jenny pushed away doubt. Elation made her laugh and hug her sisters. Andrew would deal with her father. And he would put a stop to Mr. Judd. He was her shining knight of old, like the ones in her father’s poetry. She only hoped her father would recognize it.
*
“May I offer you wine, or coffee, Your Grace?” Baron Wetherby asked.
“No, thank you.”
Andrew sat opposite him beside the fire. The hall had been cold, the grate in the fireplace unlit, but a hearty coal fire warmed this room. He glanced at the book shelves filled with gilt-edged tomes. More books on poetry and history were piled onto the big oak desk, along with reams of paper. He began to suspect that Baron Wetherby seldom concerned himself with much beyond this room. The estate and the house, or what Andrew had seen of it, looked to be in a bad way. He crossed his legs and met the man’s questioning gaze. “As I’m sure you already suspect, I have come to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage, sir.”
Wetherby took a moment to digest this. “My daughter is engaged to Mr. Walter Judd.”
“But Jenny has no wish to marry him. In fact, she holds him in aversion. So much so that she, and therefore I, will block any attempt for Judd to marry Bella.”
“My daughter has fanciful notions. You really shouldn’t take them too seriously, Your Grace. Jenny refused Judd once, and the man has shown great generosity in renewing his suit. I greatly fear if she did so again he would make it known to society. She would be labelled a jilt. And should my daughter marry you, that too would cause a scandal, because Jenny has been living under your roof. I’m surprised that does not trouble you.”
“Jenny was my children’s governess.” Andrew decided it would serve no purpose to tell him what had occurred at Castlebridge. It might give Judd the means to cause trouble. “Propriety was always observed.”
Wetherby shrugged. “That is as may be. Her time with you will not be viewed in such generous terms by others.”
Andrew leaned forward. “Surely, you don’t think so poorly of your daughter to believe…”
Wetherby waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter what I think. It is what society will make of it. And I anticipate that Judd will be happy to make it common knowledge.”
“Then I must supply you with information about Judd that you may not be aware of.”
Wetherby frowned. “Oh? And what might that be?”
Andrew told him what Raymond had discovered.
The baron paled visibly. He tugged his cravat and swallowed. “It certainly suggests… I find this hard to believe, although…”
“Although?”
“Jenny was concerned about something Judd had said to her, but I believed it to be a flight of fancy on her part.”
“A flight of fancy? Surely, you know your daughter better than that? Jenny is a sensible young woman.”
Wetherby nodded. “I see now that I might have been mistaken about Judd.”
Andrew wasn’t interested in the guilt Wetherby would now have to deal with. He wanted to remove Jenny safely to Castlebridge as soon as possible. And her sisters even if it meant crossing swords with their father. He had promised Jenny and he would not fail her. And he would ensure Judd’s silence. No sense in telling Wetherby, of his plans, however. “Then you consider my suit favorable, Baron?”
“Jenny has no dowry. Judd was willing to overlook it.” The baron wasn’t about to give in easily.
“It is of no concern to me.”
“I suppose not.” He sighed. “Judd was to make a generous settlement, which would go a long way to see to the younger children’s futures.”
“Indeed?” Andrew seated himself at his desk and took up a pen. He wrote down an exorbitant figure and handed it to Wetherby.
The baron stared at it and then up at Andrew. “I can hardly reject such a generous sum. I shall have my solicitor draw up the papers.”
“There is one further matter, my lord,” Andrew said standing before him.
“Oh?”
“Jenny wishes for Bella and Beth to come with her. Bella will have her Season next year and Beth will live with us.”
Lord Wetherby frowned. “I am to lose my daughters? What sort of madness is this?”
“Jenny is concerned for her sister’s safety.”
“Safety? In my house?”
“Should you agree, my lord, I can arrange for your eldest son, Jarred, to be accepted into Oxford.”
“Oxford?” The baron held out his hand. “Welcome to the family, Your Grace.”
“Thank you.” Andrew shook his hand. He thought this man reprehensible in his careless disregard for his children, but he didn’t consider him a bad man. Merely a weak rather naïve one, and, with little clue as to how to manage his finances and run his estate, sought distraction in his books.
Andrew left the library in search of Jenny. He didn’t have to go far, she waited anxiously in the hall. She drew him into the parlor. “What did my father say?”
Andrew took her hands and smiled wanting to kiss her. “He has agreed to our marriage.”
Her hands trembled in his. “Did he agree to Bella and Beth coming with me?”
“He did.”
“Oh, Andrew.” Jenny’s eyes filled with tears and she smiled mistily up at him.
He drew her over to sit on the sofa, as a large scruffy dog ambled into the room, tail wagging.
“That’s Rufus,” Jenny said as the dog politely sniffed Andrew’s boots then went to nudge a black and white cat stretched out on the rug. The cat rolled over and cuffed the dog’s nose. With a large sigh, Rufus collapsed onto the carpet and rested his head on his paws.
“Of indeterminate breed, but a dash of pointer perhaps,” Andrew said with a chuckle. He sobered, he already had a fair idea of what went on here, but he needed to hear the whole from the beginning, before he left and tackled Judd. “Tell me precisely what happened to drive you from home and what brought you back, Jenny.”
She flushed and bit her lip. “It was wrong of me to leave. I should have stayed, matched my wits against Judd’s.” She began haltingly to describe the scene which occurred between her and Judd, which had frightened her so much she knew she could not marry him. “There was violence in his eyes,” she said in a low voice. “And what he said was so disgusting, I felt sick. I couldn’t allow Bella to marry Judd in my place.” Her eyes grew troubled. “I had to come home straight away and put a stop to it.”
He narrowed his eyes, wanting to get his hands on the man. “I’m aware of Judd’s cruelty.”
Unspoken pain darkened her eyes. “You are?”
“Let us talk no more of this, sweetheart. We have more pleasant matters to discuss.”
“Yes. Tell me more about William and Barbara?” Jenny asked. “Is William behaving himself and riding Lavender? Is Barbara visiting the kittens?”
“As to William, he was, and I can only hope he’s behaving in my absence, although Ben and the stable staff will watch him like hawks. Barbara has become very protective of the kittens. They both miss you.”
She bit her lip. “I miss them so much. I can’t wait to see them.”
He told her of his attempt to appease Barbara when she objected to the squire’s daughter taking the ginger kitten.
Jenny giggled. “You compared a cat to Cinderella?”
“I’m afraid I lack your skill in handling my daughter,” he admitted, with a shake of his head.
Jenny’s eyes grew amused, and she looked so adorable, he had to kiss her.
“Now.” He reluctantly drew away before he lost himself in her perfumed softness. “The wedding. Shall we be married in London?”
She flushed. “Not Westminster Abbey?”
“No. Or the chapel at Castlebridge?”
“Oh yes, that would be perfect, and then William and Barbara can attend.”
“I’ll acquire a special license from Doctor�
�s Commons. We can be married in three weeks if that doesn’t rush you too much. And should your father agree, I would be delighted if your family and friends were to stay at Castlebridge. Until then, you might stay with your aunt in London while you shop for your trousseau.”
“My trousseau?” She frowned. She was worried about the cost. How might he tactfully suggest paying for it?
“I have accounts at several London stores, which would be expedient given we have so little time.”
“O?” It just happens that I purchased a bolt of fabric this morning,” she said, in her earnest manner, her gray eyes searching his. “It won’t take me more than a week or two to sew a wedding gown.”
He had guessed right. She doubted her father would pay for her trousseau. He didn’t doubt Jenny’s expertise with a needle, although he wanted to see her dressed in the finest gowns made by the best modiste in London and Paris. “I am sure my great aunt’s dressmaker could fashion you a wedding gown, should you prefer it,” he suggested, wanting to give her the world, while understanding how she had been forced to economize.
She bit her lip. “Do you think my dress would look too… homespun?”
“Did you make this dress?” He ran his eye over her slim figure in the straw-colored morning gown.
She nodded.
“You sew as beautifully as any dressmaker. If that is something you wish to do, then by all means make it, Jenny, I have every confidence it will be a beautiful dress. But if you’d rather spend the time gallivanting around London with your siblings, order a wedding dress from Madam De Launay as well as your other requirements.”
“That is exceedingly generous of you, Andrew,” she said flushing. “London would be such fun. We shall see Jarred. I hope he can get time off to come down for the wedding.”
“Let me know the chambers he works for, I’m sure something can be arranged.”
A smile lit her eyes. “Could you? That would be perfect.”
Regency Scandals and Scoundrels Collection Page 68
