by Anne Herries
‘Yes, you are right,’ he agreed. ‘He won’t go far. Jack and five of the militia are only minutes behind me. It is best that he hangs. Besides, he may have information to give them.’
‘You said he killed the French spy? Did he escape?’
‘They let him go for reasons of their own,’ Drew said and frowned. ‘Some grand scheme of planting false information with the enemy, which came to nothing. Raoul Viera was seen making his way here and he was seen meeting someone at the mine. We believe it was Hambleton. A shot was fired, but when the men following him got there he had disappeared and the Frenchie’s body—though they found that this morning. Hambleton must have known that area well, and he found somewhere to hide that none of our men could find. We think he has been hiding out here all the time, even though he has been searched for time and time again.’
‘It must be the tunnel that leads under this house,’ Marianne said. ‘If Mr Hambleton came here and couldn’t get through, he must have been angry. I shouldn’t be surprised if you find the entrance somewhere in the mine itself.’
‘Yes, I had begun to think on those lines myself,’ Drew said. ‘Because I now know that there are several different entrances to the mine. I had only looked at the recent workings, but they go on for some distance and some must be hundreds of years old. It is a maze of passages and tunnels down there, but someone ought to find it and make sure it is blocked, though it will probably happen when the mine is opened up again, for I believe it is Lady Edgeworthy’s intention to start work there next spring.’
‘Yes, I think so,’ Marianne said and smiled. She heard a gunshot and her smile vanished for a moment, but then it was back in place as she picked up the basket she had dropped when Joshua surprised her. ‘I must take these in for Lucy to arrange. Shall you take nuncheon with us—or must you find out what is happening?’
‘Jack is coming now,’ Drew said, nodding to indicate a man striding towards them. ‘He is one of my closest friends, Marianne. I’ve asked him to be best man at my wedding.’
‘Then he must stay for nuncheon, too, if he wishes,’ she said and smiled as an attractive man came up to them.
‘Captain Harcourt, Marianne Horne—the lady I have asked to be my wife.’
Jack inclined his head to her, his eyes narrowing. ‘Drew always had good taste—and he was always a lucky devil,’ he said with a grin at his friend. ‘I wish you every happiness, Miss Horne. He is the best of fellows, though a little headstrong. I told him to wait for us, but he would not.’
‘Had he not come, I might not have been here to greet you, sir,’ Marianne said and smiled at Drew. ‘Mr Hambleton was trying to kidnap me, perhaps to bargain for his freedom and more.’
‘You’ve got him?’ Drew asked, a grim expression in his eyes.
‘Yes, we have him, alive, though wounded in the leg—but he will survive and stand trial,’ Jack replied. ‘We know that he took his employer’s identity after the real Joshua Hambleton died of a fever. We also know that he has killed at least twice, and perhaps more—and that is besides charges of treason and theft. If he doesn’t hang, I shall be very surprised.’
Marianne shivered and Drew put his arm about her. ‘Don’t feel sorry for him,’ he said. ‘He was an evil man and we may never know the true extent of his crimes.’
‘I wasn’t feeling sorry for him,’ she replied, lifting her head proudly. ‘But the sun has gone in and it is time for nuncheon. Will you stay, Captain Harcourt?’
‘Willingly,’ Jack told her with a look of approval. ‘I shall stand up with this fellow here in church for your wedding, and I can tell you that it is a day none of his friends ever expected to see—but it is a good one.’
Marianne nodded, turning to lead the way inside. Drew’s life was still a mystery to her, but she was getting to know more of him little by little. She thought that it might take a lifetime to really know him.
‘When I saw you struggling with him, I was terrified that I might be too late,’ Drew said when they were alone together later that afternoon. Jack had gone and Lucy was upstairs unpacking a trunk that had come for her from the attics at the Lodge. Lady Edgeworthy and Mrs Horne had gone out visiting in the carriage, leaving them to amuse themselves. ‘If he had harmed you, I do not know what I should have done, Marianne. I do not think I could bear it if I lost you now.’
‘It was a little frightening,’ she admitted with a smile. They were standing together, looking out of the parlour window, his arm about her waist. ‘But you came when I needed you, and he cannot harm me now.’
‘Thank God for Jack and his scheme to have the Frenchie followed,’ Drew said. ‘Had he not been followed here to his meeting with Hambleton, we might not have known where he was hiding and…’ He shook his head. ‘No, we shall not speak of it again. It is over and we have better things to think about, my love.’
‘Our wedding,’ Marianne said, gazing up at him now. ‘You must give me a list of the guests you would like to invite so that we can send out the invitations.’
‘Jack, of course, and a handful of close friends. I have a distant cousin who might wish to attend, but I have no desire to invite the whole of society—unless you hoped for a big wedding?’
‘No, not at all,’ Marianne said. ‘My Aunt and Uncle Wainwright, and Papa’s cousin Toby, Jane and Dr Thompson, perhaps Major Barr and a few of my great-aunt’s close friends.’
‘We shall of course hold a large social event when we go up to London next spring,’ Drew told her. ‘Do not think I mean to keep you in that great mausoleum of my uncle’s, though we must spend some time there—but I have a smaller house in Hampshire that I like and I have had the London house refurbished in a more comfortable style.’
‘I think the late marquis was a very grand person,’ Marianne said, ‘but perhaps we do not need to be quite so grand as he was?’
‘You may be as grand or as ordinary as you please, my love,’ Drew promised her. ‘Though I believe when I take you to London you will find that you are invited everywhere and you may enjoy the social whirl.’
‘Yes, I am sure I shall,’ Marianne said and leaned up to kiss his cheek. ‘And if your friends are all as charming as Jack Harcourt, I am sure I shall like them, too.’
‘Hal is younger than either Jack or I,’ Drew said. ‘He is what you might think of as an irreverent gentleman.’
‘I shall look forward to—’ Marianne broke off as a travelling coach pulled up outside the house. Almost as soon as it stopped the door opened and a pretty girl jumped down, followed more slowly by an older woman and a gentleman with his arm in a sling. ‘Oh, it is my sister Jo and my aunt and uncle. We had not expected them until tomorrow.’
Drew saw the pleasure in her face. ‘Go and meet them, dearest,’ he said. ‘I shall stay to meet them and then I must leave. I have sent for some of my staff from Marlbeck, because I must entertain a few people before the wedding.’
Even as he finished speaking, Jo burst into the room, calling for her sister. She stopped short as she saw Drew, her eyes drawn immediately to his face and wide with curiosity.
‘Dearest Jo,’ Marianne said. ‘This is Lord Marlbeck…Drew, my sister Jo.’
Jo came towards him, her hand outstretched. ‘It is good to meet you, sir,’ she said. ‘Yes, I can see why my sister likes you so much. I wasn’t sure that you would suit her, for I had always seen her as the wife of a vicar—but I think you will do very well.’
‘I am flattered by your approval,’ Drew said, a look of unholy glee in his eyes, for he liked Jo’s frankness and her manner. ‘I shall try to be worthy of her.’
‘You had better be or you will answer to me,’ Jo said and went to embrace Marianne. ‘You look lovely, dearest. Being in love must suit you—though you never had time for aristocrats and I cannot think how you came to decide to marry one.’
‘Jo! That is unpardonably rude of you!’ Lady Wainwright said, entering the room at that precise moment and hearing only the last few words. ‘You mu
st apologise to Lord Marlbeck immediately.’ She put on a simpering smile. ‘I believe we met earlier this year when you were in town, sir. It was at my daughter’s coming-out ball…’
‘Ah, yes, I seem to remember,’ Drew said and took the hand she offered, lifting it to air kiss her fingers. ‘But you must not scold Jo—she was merely speaking her mind, you know. And she will never offend me if she tells me the truth.’ He grinned at Jo, who shot a look of triumph at her sister.
Fortunately, Lord Wainwright came in at that moment. ‘Ah, Marlbeck,’ he said and went to shake hands with Drew. ‘Delighted to hear the news, sir. You will do very well for my niece. She is a lovely girl in every way and I hope she means to ask me to give her away.’ He smiled at Marianne. ‘I have missed your visits, young lady, and shall be glad to have you as a neighbour in the future. Especially as your mama tells me she is thinking of making her home here.’ He glanced at his wife and frowned. ‘The Lodge was never meant as a permanent home for her, Marianne. I have found a better house for her if she would like to reconsider.’
‘I think Lady Edgeworthy needs her here, and Lucy has settled well,’ Marianne said with an apologetic smile. ‘But I am sure you will be welcome to visit—and she may visit me sometimes and you will meet her then.’
‘Yes, well…as long as she is comfortable,’ Lord Wainwright said and sent a look of annoyance in his wife’s direction, which clearly indicated to the sisters what they had suspected all along—that it was their aunt who had decided on the Lodge, not their uncle.
‘Oh, yes, I think she must be very happy, for my great-aunt is very kind and they get on so well,’ Marianne said. ‘Your rooms are ready, Aunt Wainwright. Would you like me to take you up—or would you prefer some refreshment first?’
‘I should like to rest after that terrible journey,’ Lady Wainwright said with a shudder. ‘These Cornish roads are disgraceful! You may show me the room, Marianne, and I shall come down in an hour or so.’
‘And I must take my leave of you, for I have things to do,’ Drew said. He smiled at Marianne. ‘Until this evening, my dearest.’
‘Yes, we expect you for dinner,’ Marianne said. ‘Please come with me, Aunt, for I am sure you must be very tired.’
Lord Wainwright looked at Drew as they went out. ‘My wife is an indifferent traveller, I fear, but she will be in a better frame when she has rested. I shall look forward to speaking to you later, Marlbeck. I stand as a father to Marianne, of course, and I dare say we have things to discuss.’
‘The settlement, of course,’ Drew said. ‘I have not had time to instruct my lawyer as yet, but I believe you will find I shall be generous.’ He nodded his head to Jo and went out, leaving uncle and niece together in the small parlour.
‘Well, I dare say he will look after her,’ Lord Wainwright said. ‘Lady Wainwright refused to believe it at first, for she had settled in her mind that your sister would not do better than a baronet, but she is reconciled to the idea now. She may have to revise her ideas in the matter of your marriage now, miss.’
‘Oh, no,’ Jo said and grinned at him, for she liked her uncle far more than her aunt. ‘Marianne is the beauty of the family, though I think Lucy may rival her in a few years. Besides, I am not sure that I wish to marry at all.’
‘Well, I dare say your mother and great-aunt would be happy enough to have you live with them for a while,’ he said. ‘But you won’t let your aunt down, Jo? She is counting on you to accompany her to Bath.’
‘Lady Wainwright has been generous with my clothes, sir,’ Jo told him. ‘It would be unkind in me to refuse her now. But she must not mind too much if I do not find myself a husband.’
At that moment Lucy came running into the room, and, after greeting her uncle, the sisters embraced, hugging each other and exchanging stories. Lucy then dragged Jo off to see her room, which she said was next to her own, and then Marianne came back into the parlour.
‘You are alone, sir,’ she said. ‘Would you care for some of Aunt Bertha’s Madeira? I believe it is very good.’
‘I need nothing for the moment,’ he said. ‘Come and talk to me. I have wished that I had let your mama and sisters stay at the Vicarage until a decent house was found. Agatha…I believed the Lodge might suit, but I was very distressed when poor little Lucy was ill.’
‘Yes, it was upsetting for Mama, but Lucy is better now, as I dare say you saw just now.’
‘Indeed, she was her old self, and I am much relieved. You must know that I am very fond of you all…’ He looked so uncomfortable that Marianne took pity on him. She went to him and kissed his cheek, smiling up at him as he responded in kind. ‘There now, I see you don’t bear grudges.’
‘Why should I?’ she asked. ‘You have always been kind to us, Uncle.’
‘And might have been kinder…’ He shook his head. ‘I’ve a special gift for you in my trunk, Marianne. Marlbeck is filled with treasures of all kinds, and so I settled on a diamond necklace for you—your husband has quite enough money and property as it is.’
‘Yes, I suppose he is quite wealthy.’
‘One of the richest men in England,’ her uncle said and then laughed. ‘Money is nothing unless you have someone to share it with, my dear. I believe you will give him as much and more than he has to give you.’
Marianne smiled, but was saved from answering by the arrival of her mama and Lady Edgeworthy. There was a flurry of greetings and the tea tray was sent for just as Lady Wainwright came down, and it was more than an hour later that Marianne was able to slip away to her room.
Jo followed her up, her eyes bright with mischief. ‘I have been longing to be alone with you,’ she cried. ‘It seems ages since you came down here, though it is not so very long, of course—but now you are to be married!’
‘Yes, I am,’ Marianne agreed, her face alight with happiness. ‘I can hardly believe it, Jo. I am so lucky!’
‘Well, as to that, I think he is the lucky one,’ Jo said. ‘But if you are happy, that is all that matters.’
‘I have never been happier. I can hardly wait for my wedding day.’
Chapter Twelve
It was a fine crisp morning when Marianne awoke to the realisation that it was the day of her wedding. The sun was shining, though there was a cool breeze out, because it was late October now. At least it was not raining, which it had done for some days the previous week, keeping all three girls in the house. However, it had been just like the days they had so often spent together at the Vicarage and they had been happy enough in their own company.
Drew had spent three days with Marianne and her sisters, apparently content to enjoy their company, until he was obliged to return to Marlbeck on some business for the estate.
He had taken his leave of her in private in the small parlour, her sisters tactfully taking themselves off to allow them a few moments alone.
Drew had kissed her lingeringly, a hint of regret in his face. ‘I am glad we had these few days. I have enjoyed seeing you with your sisters, my dearest one. It has revealed to me a side of life that I have never known and I wish I did not have to leave—but there are things that must be done if we are to have our wedding trip to Italy.’
‘Yes, of course you must go,’ Marianne had told him, gazing up at him with such love in her eyes that he felt his throat constrict. ‘It will not be long until our wedding.’
And now the days had passed and she was to be wed that morning.
‘Oh, you do look beautiful,’ Lucy said, coming in when Marianne was almost finished dressing. ‘I brought you this—it is my own present to you, darling Marianne.’ She gave her sister a garter of blue ribbon that she had made herself. ‘I hope it brings you lots of luck!’
‘I am sure it will,’ Marianne said and kissed her.
Jo was the next to arrive with her gift. She had bought a journal of good-quality vellum, bound with leather. Into it she had pasted dried flowers and poems that she loved, also receipts for lotions and creams that their mama had
taught them, and a lock of Papa’s hair twisted and plated into the letter M.
‘Oh, Jo,’ Marianne said with tears in her eyes. ‘What a wonderful gift. I shall treasure it always.’
‘Well, Drew will give you all the clothes and trinkets you wish for,’ Jo said. ‘But something like this will remind you of us when we were all together as a family.’
‘Yes, it will,’ Marianne agreed. ‘But you know that Drew has said that he will always welcome my family whenever they care to come and stay with us.’
‘Yes—’ Jo sniffed hard ‘—it isn’t quite the same, though, is it?’
Marianne agreed that it wasn’t, of course. ‘I was blessed with the best of childhoods,’ she said. ‘I shall never forget how fortunate I have been.’
‘But now you have someone else to love,’ Jo said. ‘I know and I don’t mind, truly I don’t—but I wanted you to remember.’
After that, Mama and Aunt Bertha had come up to see her and to bring their own small gifts. Downstairs in the back parlour a table had been set with all the expensive gifts that had been showered on Marianne and her marquis, many more than she had expected, especially as some were from people she did not know and who had not been invited to the wedding.
‘Do not let it alarm you,’ Drew said when an impressive silver tea-and-coffee set arrived from the Earl and Countess of Sawston. ‘Those we have not invited will be thanked and invited to our ball next year.’
Jane had come to see her, bringing a gift of lace handkerchiefs she had sewn herself, for which Marianne was as grateful as she had been for the massive silver tea service. They embraced, and Jane confided the welcome news that she thought she was already increasing.
And then it was time for everyone to leave for the church. Marianne’s heart was beating wildly as she walked down the aisle to the sound of organ music, and then Drew turned his head to watch her and the look in his eyes sent a thrill of happiness winging through her, because it was the look of love.
