by Sue London
As he walked away Francie was afraid her legs would give out from underneath her. “I need to go find Uncle John.”
“And you need to bring your soon-to-be fiancé with you to explain himself,” George said.
***
Reggie saw his father approaching from across the room. It was impossible to read his expression, and trying to concentrate on both his cards and his father at the same time proved difficult.
“You should have had that trick,” his mother complained.
His father stood behind him chatting with a Peer while he and mother finished their rounds. When Reggie relinquished his seat he couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Well?”
“As far as I’m concerned you can marry her if you think you can handle her. She’ll be over in the morning with her uncle so we can discuss settlements.”
“Yes, sir,” Reggie said, too dazed to say more. What on earth had Francie done? Had she brokered her own marriage without him?
Miss Samantha Walters appeared at his elbow, tucking her hand into it. “You’re needed in the other card room,” she said, steering him away. The crowd had become a true press and he had to turn and push to keep up with the slighter Miss Sam. He couldn’t even describe how much he was missing Cleadon right now.
They managed to squeeze into the second card room. Reggie wasn’t sure why he was there until he noticed the tall, dark Earl of Harington and saw the accompanying sprawl of Francie’s friends and family. The were crowded around Mr. Walters who seemed unable to play his whist game with all of them pestering him. Reggie had seen similar impending disasters many times on deck. Well-meaning sailors became a detriment if they didn’t know what to do with themselves.
Walking up to the group he said, “Lord Harington, perhaps you could sit in for your father-in-law while Miss Walters and I speak to him privately outside?”
“Of course,” the earl said, grinning at the card table like a sorely missed friend.
“Perhaps the rest of you could,” he waved his hand at the crowd, “mingle.” Their group mercifully dispersed while he and Francie took Mr. Walters to the gardens.
There were a few cigar smokers and couples who wanted to stroll in a cool breeze, but far fewer people than inside the packed house.
Walters leaned up against a water fountain that featured a cherub pouring an endless urn of water while goats danced around. “I think I can guess what this is about.”
“I want to ask for your niece’s hand in marriage.”
Walters looked at Francie. “Is that what you want?”
“Yes,” she said. “Very much so.”
Walters rubbed his forehead as though a headache was coming on. “And you thought you needed my permission?”
“It seemed appropriate, sir,” Reggie said.
“He had a whole plan,” Francie added. “But I made him rush it a bit.”
“And how much, precisely, do you plan to rush it?” Walters asked faintly.
Francie smiled. “If we can get the banns read my cousin Phoebe and his best friend Harry will wait another week on their wedding and we will all get married together!”
“I see. And you know where you will live and how you will support yourselves?”
“She will come with me to Irish Island in Bermuda, sir, where I will work on the fortifications.”
She leaned forward a bit. “He’s a Lieutenant.”
“Noncommissioned, sir, but I plan to buy my commission before we leave.”
She looked at him. “You will?”
He nodded but said, “I thought it best not to tell you about that plan.”
Walters held up a hand. “What you’re telling me is that you know precisely how you want everything to work out.”
“Yes, sir.”
Walters looked at Francie again. “Her father was my youngest brother, and very dear to me. But he had the sea in his blood and was very seldom home. When do you leave for Irish Island?”
“It will probably be shortly after the wedding, sir.”
Walters sighed a bit sadly. “Well, we will have her for the fortnight, I suppose. If you promise to bring her for visits from time to time, then you may have my blessing.”
“Oh!” Francie said. “Thank you, Uncle John!” She embraced him.
“I’ll make sure she writes to you every month as well.” Reggie thought there was no harm in gaining an ally in Francie’s family.
“It’s all right. Jack reads her letters to us anyway.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Francie stepped back. “All this time?” She’d never thought much about her correspondence with Jack. It was just something they’d done, without fail, since she’d started visiting that side of her family in Derbyshire.
“Of course.”
‘When she included notes from you I didn’t realize…” Francie felt tears well up. She would not cry and get all blotchy in her ball finery. Dammit. But she’d had a family and group of friends that she’d been connected to through Jack all these years. She’d assumed Jack had simply included anecdotes and quotes from all of them from memory. She’d never thought that her cousin might be reading her letters to the family and they were all discussing them and deciding together what to send back to her in Cleadon. She sniffled. “That’s simply charming.”
Uncle John chuckled chuckled. “You’re quite the entertaining writer. We will look forward to hearing what you think of the islands.”
She had family. Real family that she’d been ignoring all these years. And now she was planning to sail off in another month. It wasn’t fair!
On the other hand, she and Reggie now had the tentative blessing of both of their families.
“Oh!” she said. “I almost forgot! We have to go to breakfast at Viscount Goldshire’s in the morning.”
“We do?” Uncle John asked.
“Yes. That will be the very final, everyone is in agreement discussion.”
“Very well, then. If I must.”
“Thank you! I love you, Uncle John.” She impulsively hugged him again.
“I love you, too, precious.” He took her hand. “Your father would be very pleased that you can follow his dream of spending more time at sea.”
Drat, now she really was starting to cry. “I know,” she said softly.
Uncle John looked at Reggie. “Take good care of her.”
“I will, sir.”
With that, her uncle walked back to the crush of the house.
“That went better than expected,” Reggie said.
“It did?”
“This morning the earl said that if your uncle called me out that I could expect to see him on the dueling field instead.”
“Uncle John? A duel?” She laughed. “That’s preposterous. He’s one of the gentlest people I know.”
“I doubt the earl is.”
“I have a lot of stories to catch you up on with my family.” She laughed, but then felt a piercing pain in her heart. “Oh. Oh, my letters from Jack burned.”
He took her hand. “I’m sorry, love.”
“As am I.”
“We will just have to gather new memories.”
She smiled up at him. “Yes,” she said. “New memories in a new life.”
***
Reggie had felt concern that the cloudy morning was an inauspicious start to their wedding day, but when the clouds parted at the beginning of the ceremony he felt he was able to breathe easier. Francie had extracted a promise from Lady Jack that the countess would document all the details of this day in a letter so that they could start collecting their new memories. Just now, looking down at his soon to be wife beside him, he was grateful that she’d thought to ask. He didn’t want to forget any moment of it. Francie glowed in a pale blue and silver gown that was somehow even more ethereal than the one she’d worn to the ball. Reggie wasn’t sure he heard any of the words of the ceremony, he was so focused on her. He only realized he was supposed to respond to the clergyman’s question
when she looked up at him expectantly. He’d stopped listening at some point during Harry and Phoebe’s vows and didn’t realize it was time for their own!
Then, amazingly, it was done. She was his wife in truth, smiling up at him with joy in her crystalline blue eyes. A crack of thunder and sudden patter of rain sent the laughing wedding attendees scattering from the Caversham gardens to find cover in the duke’s spacious house.
As they mingled and chatted, Reggie finally had a moment with Harry.
“When do you leave for Edinburgh?” Reggie asked.
“We have time. My classes don’t begin until mid-September. I’m thinking of taking Cav up on his offer to stay at his hunting box north of Aberdeen. According to Amelia The Box, as they call it, is very remote and romantic. And Cav says the shooting and fishing are superb.”
“Ah, so there’s something for the both of you,” Reggie teased. He saw their wives enter the room and raised his glass in their direction. “My God, Harry, they are incredibly beautiful, are they not?”
Harry grunted his agreement, clearly distracted by staring at his wife in her pale lemon and silver gown. “Who knew Wally had such charming women in his family?”
“You were lucky, she wasn’t taken from you,” Reggie said, still sorry that he’d not been in London to help his friend when Phoebe had been in Donovan’s clutches.
“I completely agree.” Manners-Sutton had his jaw set, but Reggie heard the slight crack in his voice that revealed precisely how deeply it affected him. Changing the subject he asked, “And how soon do you sail for Bermuda?”
“Day after tomorrow, morning tide,” Reggie replied. “Francie wants to spend the day shopping tomorrow.” He gave a disgusted sigh, knowing the role expected of him. The truth was, he loved nothing better than having her show him her new clothing. So he could take it off of her. “Somehow, someway, I will need to find that reserve of patience people say exists.”
Harry laughed. “Reg, it’s not on the outside my friend, it’s on the inside. I know you don’t like looking there, but that’s where it is.”
Now that was probably advice he could use. Not that he would use it.
“Where what is?” Phoebe asked, threading her arm through her husband’s as she joined the conversation.
Reggie smiled at her. “We were talking about where to shop for your bonnet tomorrow. Harry knows these things, don’t ask why.”
“Oh my,” she said. “I almost want to ask.”
He teased Harry’s wife. “Oh, it’s best you didn’t. I’m afraid it might change your opinion of him. And that wouldn’t be good.” He kissed Phoebe’s gloved hand. “Besides, you’ve already married him. I’m not taking him back.”
Francie wound her arms through his and he covered her hand with his own as he smiled down at her. He didn’t think it was possible to love her any more than he did, yet somehow his love for her continued to grow every day.
“Sweetheart,” she said, “you have not seen me when I’m burned from the sun. I get cantankerous—argumentative even.”
“No different than you are every other day, I suppose,” he said with a wink.
She playfully smacked his forearm with her free hand. “Have I told you that I believe in husbands and wives keeping separate bedrooms? I do, you know.”
Reggie grinned. “I see I must find us smaller lodgings. After all, we were so happy in Cleadon, when you weren’t pointing your pistol at me.”
Epilogue
Francie stepped out onto the veranda, holding her cousin’s letter. Phoebe sounded so happy in her new life. Staring out at the sparkling water and feeling the salty ocean breeze on her face, Francie had to admit that she was happy, too. It was, as Reggie promised, always warm in Bermuda. Sometimes they would take cold baths simply to cool down! It was sunny and verdant all the time and she grew fruit in her yard. She’d taken to making preserves, and Reggie insisted on always sampling them from her fingers first. As yet he proclaimed honey to still be his favorite sweet to lick off of her, but he was always game to try something new.
She heard bare feet behind her and smiled. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head against hers.
“You left me in bed,” he groused.
“You were sleeping so well.”
“Not after you left.”
After three months of marriage they could still scarce stand to be out of each other’s company. She sighed contentedly and leaned into him.
“You’re reading Phooebe’s letter again?” he asked. She’d received it yesterday and read him the tidbits about Harry.
“Yes, I thought I’d respond today.”
“How is she liking Scotland?”
“It sounds cold.”
He snorted. “She says it’s cold, or you think it sounds cold?”
“It’s Scotland, I think we can all agree it’s cold.”
“Hm. Are you feeling cold enough that you need me to warm you?”
She laughed. “Oh stop, you.”
“I could get the honey and we could…” he let his words trail off suggestively.
“I’ll have to write Jack at the same time, though,” she said, as though her husband weren’t pressing kisses to her neck now. “They’ll be upset if they think one side of the family knew before the other.”
“Knew what?” he asked absently, concentrating on pulling aside her dress to nibble at her shoulder while playing his other hand under her breasts.
“And of course if your mother’s post doesn’t arrive at least an hour before that we will never hear the end of it.” She knew that would get his attention. He straightened away from her.
“My mother?”
She turned and looked up at him. “Although I don’t know how she’ll take it when we tell her we’re going to have a pirate.”
“A pirate?” he asked suspiciously.
She looked down and patted her still flat belly. “Born in Bermuda to you and I? What chance does the poor mite have?”
“We…Yes?” His voice bubbled with laughter. “We’re going to have a pirate?”
She nodded at him and he lifted her up over his head in joy. “Reggie!” she squeaked.
“We’re going to have a pirate!” he shouted.
She laughed. “Be careful! These Navy boys don’t care much for pirates!”
He set her on her feet again and set his forehead to hers. “I love you, Francie Burnham.”
“I love you, too, Reggie Burnham.”
He put his hand on her belly. “And I will love this little child, even if he, very unfortunately, becomes a pirate.”
“Or she.”
“If she’s anything like her mother she will definitely be a pirate.”
“Oh really?” She asked, laughing as he tugged her close for a quick kiss.
“Mm hmm. As soon as she sees a man she will shoot him and steal his heart.”
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See all Sue’s books on her website bysuelondon.com
Also by Sue London
Haberdashers Novels
Trials of Artemis
Athena’s Ordeal
Fates for Apate
Saving Persephone
Taming Chiron
Coming Soon:
Punishing Pheme
Haberdashers Tales novellas
A Common Christmas
Fortune Said
Sweet Tannenbaum
Haberdashers Nights novellas
Lord Lucifer’s Disciple
Jack Valentine
His Illicit Devotion (coming soon)
The Mad Clan
The Enchanted Cave
The Fairy Palace
Chasing Love<
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Her Reluctant Lord
Author’s Note
I can’t thank Sandy Raven enough for coming up with this madcap adventure. We’ve teased about bringing our worlds together before, and when we joined the Union Jack 2017 Summer of Love she knew what we should do! Francie and Reggie were born in her world, but are clearly quite happy living in mine.
Usually this is the spot where I share some insights into what research I did as well as the funny little things that happened along the way. You won’t be surprised to know that I did a good deal of reading about the British Navy, the War of 1812, and Irish Island (a place Sandy introduced me to). Although I didn’t read it too deeply, I did skim that lecture “On the Friction of Fluids” for Reggie, as well as a good number of accounts of sailors for Francie’s obsession. I read the history of sewing machines, tattooing, various ships, and the admiralty. I even brushed up on the proper way to address a viscount.
Lots of funny things always happen on the way to the market for me. In some ways I always know exactly what I’m going to write before I even start a book, but in other ways I have no idea. How can that be? Well, those blurbs you read are usually written well in advance of me even typing ‘Chapter One’ and I’ve yet to come up with one that didn’t fit the completed story. But the details! Oy. The devil lurks there. I always think I know how it’s all going to happen and the characters thwart me every time. My joke is “Sue plans, her characters laugh.”
One of the fun serendipities that ended up anchoring Francie’s character is her tattoo. That all happened because Sandy noticed the model on my completed cover had one. (No, I hadn’t noticed it, and yes, I had the cover done well in advance of writing the book, I’m crazy like that.) When Sandy asked if I was going to have it fixed I said, “No. I can work with this.” I love stuff like that. I love finding a way to weave things together. You may have noticed that my Haberdashers covers are always the scene of the first kiss. Other than Trials of Artemis, I always have the covers done before I really know how the first kiss will play out. You could say that I operate with a little faith, trust, and pixie dust when it comes to how to pull all these different parts together.
You may also remember I’ve said before that my characters know things that I don’t. I’ve given up trying to understand that. Sometimes things just get typed out on the page where I’m like ‘Is that true?’ and I go look it up, and gosh darnit it is. This was one of the times, though, where I tried to write something (Sue plans) and couldn’t even finish the sentence. Kept running back over it. Finally gave up and started to do research. What happened? Reggie wouldn’t let me put him in his uniform at the ball. We all wanted to see him in a dress uniform at the ball, right?? Well, I did some digging and as a Navy officer he was forbidden to wear his uniform when not on duty. When did we see Reggie in his uniform? When he was serving on the Lightning! He knew what he was supposed to be doing, even if I didn’t.
