His Michaelmas Mistress

by Marly Mathews

  “What is it?” Julia asked. “You have me quite at a loss, Freddie.”

  “Millie was my mother’s name,” Freddie said softly. “She matched the description I gave you, and she…she was a maid in her life before London, wasn’t she?”

  “And she believed in ghosts,” the Duke said. “She used to say that she’d come back and haunt me someday. She said that love never dies. I never thought…” he cleared his throat nervously. “Well, we Scots have always believed in ghosts. My ancestral homes have a few of them rattling about.”

  Julia sighed. “Some claim to have seen a few long dead Lovetts here at Castleton Court. As a boy, Richard would tell Mama that a lady dressed in blue haunted his bedchamber. He said he didn’t mind, as she would tell him stories, and told him to call her Grandmother.”

  “I…” Freddie felt a little unsettled. “I hope my mother has found some rest now.”

  His father sighed. “I am sure she has. She came and helped Julia when she needed it most.”

  “Aye, Lewis’s mother helped Iris, too. I suppose…I suppose a mother’s love never dies,” Freddie mused.

  “Indeed not,” the Duke said. “Of course you were blessed to have a loving mother. I am not so certain that my own dear Mama would return from the grave to watch over those I love. I’m not even certain she loved me. She looked at her children as possessions, and having fulfilled her duty. Both my father and mother acted that way. They were cold as parents went, and I’m glad that you had a more from your mother, Freddie.”

  “I didn’t have her for long, and I hate that I can only barely remember her. I can’t even see her face anymore. All I can remember is the colour of her hair, and her eyes, and sometimes, sometimes, I remember her soft voice. And I recall her touch. It was gentle, and loving. If only she’d lived longer,” he sighed.

  “She seemed full of life when I saw her,” Julia said. “She was a lovely woman, Freddie. I think you were very blessed to have her in your life. Ruby won’t believe it when I tell her. She said that she vanished into thin air, and I didn’t believe her. I shall have to give her my profuse apology tomorrow.”

  “Shall you be my Michaelmas Mistress?” Freddie asked. “And by that I mean, will you marry me the day after tomorrow?”

  “If the Vicar is free…I wouldn’t have it any other way. We can stay here long enough to go to Aunt Alice and Uncle Edward’s Michaelmas Ball, and then we can away for our honeymoon. I don’t want to put off becoming your wife any longer, Freddie.”

  “Ah, seeing true love like yours does my heart good. Julia, you are certainly the only woman for Freddie. I am overjoyed that you have gotten your happily ever after. It’s denied to so many, so never ever forget how lucky you are, and I thank God that your first attempt at marrying each other didn’t go off without a hitch.

  “If you two hadn’t been mentioned in The Times, I never would have found you, Son. It might have been seen as a curse by both of you, but to me, having Charles come in and ruin your day was the best thing to ever happen to me. You are blessed beyond compare, lad.”

  “I was blessed the first day I met Julia. I shall never forget that day, or how she believed she would scare the men who wanted to assault her and Rose off with her umbrella.”

  “I had little choice in the matter. I just couldn’t stand idly by, could I?”

  “I know you couldn’t, darling,” Freddie said, pulling her close. “And I love how brave you are, and how bloody protective you are of your family.”

  “And besides, I distracted them long enough for you and Tiny to arrive and save the day.”

  “Of course you did,” he said softly.

  His father cleared his throat. “I think…I think I shall go and see if Richard is up for a game of cards…or Billiards…” He got up and left the Saloon.

  “I think you should go home now, Freddie. There is something dangerous in your eyes,” Julia said, sighing.

  “Maybe I should have let you have your own way and married you today. Maybe I should have fetched the Vicar as you wanted.”

  “Well, it is too late for you to think about that now. He is no doubt ensconced in his bed, sleeping away the night.”

  “Aye, probably with his wife snuggled beside him.”

  “Or not. Not all married couples share the same bed, Freddie.”

  “We shall,” Freddie said firmly.

  “I don’t think there would be any hope of me keeping you out of our bed, once we are married.”

  “You have that right,” he growled, leaning in to nuzzle her ear.

  “Freddie!” she gasped, pushing against his chest. “You have to leave, now! Go home and take your father with you. We shall have tomorrow to rest up, and then the next morning, I shall become your wife.”

  “You promise?” he asked. He couldn’t help but feel a little uncertain about the whole thing. He wouldn’t actually believe it until he had the ring on her finger.

  “I promise. Nothing is going to ruin our day this time around. Charles has come to grips with the fact that he shall never have me. He will have to pick someone else to lay his affections on…it shan’t be hard for him to find a woman to love him. He is not a difficult man to love.”

  “He isn’t, is he?” A spark of jealousy flared through him.

  “He is nothing like you, Freddie. Very few men are like you, now that I think of it. You are in a class of your own, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  He was about to lean in for another kiss, when her mother walked into the Saloon, and let out one prolonged and loud exasperated sigh.

  “I appreciate how you rescued my daughter today, Lord Knightwick. Alas, you are not yet her husband. I pray you will release her, and return to your own house.”

  Reluctantly, he let her go and stood up. “I should probably take my leave…before well, before I lose my head. You’re quite certain you are all right, Julia?”

  “Of course I am. We Lovett Girls have to get used to being right smack dab in the middle of all of the excitement. It seems we are rather unable to avoid it, no matter how hard we try. There is nothing else but to remain calm, and clear headed about it all.”

  “And this time, son, when she’s about to become your wife, don’t leave her in the church,” Beatrice advised.

  “Are we going to have a church wedding? I thought with the special license, we’d marry here or at Lark Hall…” Julia said.

  “Or…if the church is free, we could try our hand at having a church wedding again,” Freddie proposed. “That is what you always wanted, Julia.”

  She smiled, but he could see her flinch. “I…I suppose we could,” she said at last.

  “If you think that it is jinxed…”

  “No…I don’t believe in that sort of stuff. I always had my heart set on being married in St. Michaels, and you are quite right, we can if we want to, as long as the Vicar isn’t performing another ceremony when we want to be wed.”

  “Splendid. I shall let the rest of the family know come tomorrow. Now, then, off with you, sir,” Beatrice said.

  Leaning down, Freddie kissed her lightly on the cheek, and said, “Sleep well, my love.”

  He walked away from her, and fought everything inside of him that told him to say to hell with it, scoop her up, and take her back with him to Wilton Park.

  He wouldn’t have a good night’s rest until she was in his arms.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  It was the morning of their wedding, and Julia had a frightful case of nerves. She couldn’t seem to decide on the best frock to wear, and had finally settled on a beautiful white muslin dress that had gold thread sewn through it, making it sparkle.

  She chose the large marquis cut sapphire and diamond necklace set in the shape of petals that made it look as if she wore flowers. She also wore a matching aigrette in her hair. She hoped that they would give her good luck today, as her Uncle Edward had given them to her, and she always had good fortune when she wore them. She hadn’t worn them on her
first wedding day, opting to be a simply adorned bride, but today, today, she wanted to feel like a queen. She wanted to be as fancy as she could be. Her maid waited patiently, close enough to be of assistance, if she needed her, but far enough away so she didn’t seem as if she hovered.

  Her mother and Richard had told her that they would ride down to the church first, and she could come in the landau on her own. She hadn’t questioned them, thinking they wanted to get away from her because she was so bloody nervous. She didn’t want Freddie to get any grim thoughts in his head, doubting that she was going to show up at all.

  No, she wanted to be there right on time. She couldn’t wait until they walked out of the church hand in hand, as husband and wife. No one would ever be able to keep them apart after that. No one would be able to chaperone them or tell them to get their hands and lips off each other.

  No…she would be his forevermore.

  There was a quick rap on the door, and her maid opened it. Julia saw her take a missive off the silver tray the footman held.

  Taking the missive from her maid, Julia murmured her thanks, broke the seal, and started to read.

  Dear Julia,

  I write this missive to tell you that I have finally decided to let what we shared, die. I know you cannot be mine. You belong to Freddie.

  I could see it the other day as you looked at him with passion burning in your eyes. I cannot remember if you ever looked at me like that, and perhaps, we shared a comfortable love…not a fiery love. And you deserve the latter, not the former, my dear. I am going away. I haven’t decided where I shall go, but I have money and freedom, and a desire to see all that I can of England. I want to remember all of the things I forgot during my stay in France, and I want to know that it was all worth fighting for. I need that.

  I hope you get all that your heart desires, Julia. I might not be the man you love, but I will be your friend until the end. Should you ever need anything—you only need to write, and I shall do my best to give it to you. I pray I find the love that you have found with Lord Knightwick.

  Farewell, Julia.

  Cordially,

  Charles

  Julia dropped the letter, and sank down onto her bed. He had put their romance at rest, and she had already done so…and yet, reading Charles’s kind words made it final. Sighing, she stood back up, and looked at Gertie, and she smiled. Her heart felt a lightness, it hadn’t felt since Charles had reappeared in her life.

  She felt free!

  She felt as if she could take on the world because the ghosts of her past were finally done haunting her.

  She would always feel fondly toward Charles—but he was right.

  She loved Freddie with a passion that had been lacking in their love affair.

  “It is time,” she announced.

  She walked to her bedchamber door, and took one last look at the room that had been her sanctuary for twenty-eight years. She had dreamed so many dreams in this room. She had cried, laughed, and wallowed in her own misery. And now…now, she had come out of all of that darkness, and looked forward to a life filled with light.

  Freddie was her heart. And he was the light and love in her life.

  Sighing, she closed the bedchamber door behind her and nodded at Gertie.

  “You can go down to the church with the rest of the Staff. I shall ride alone in the landau with the coachmen.”

  “Yes, my lady,” Gertie smiled, and hurried away.

  Julia walked down the hallway, and stopped to study a portrait of a long dead ancestor. This house would always have her heart, but it wasn’t hers anymore. She had never been fated to be mistress of Castleton Court.

  That position would fall to another woman someday—if her fool of a brother ever decided to set his cap on someone. As it was, she had little hope. Richard was a lazy sort—and she didn’t think he could possibly summon the energy needed to court a lady…much less, have the stamina to be the husband to said lady.

  She took the steps slowly and descended with a bit of melancholy in her heart. She hadn’t gotten this maudlin on her first wedding day, so why was she getting so mawkish this time around?

  The footman opened the door for her, and she walked out into the bright sunlight. The day was unseasonably hot, and for all intents and purposes, it looked like nothing could possibly go wrong. This day was going to be her day, and nothing could possibly change that.

  Once she was seated in the landau, she let out a relieved breath. She happily closed her eyes, as they rumbled down the road that would take her past Lark Hall and onward to the church.

  They had almost reached Lark Hall, when a rider emerged from the trees that bordered the road, and made the driver stop. He wore a highwayman’s mask, and clothing that was altogether too fine for an outlaw to be wearing.

  It was Freddie.

  If he thought to take her out of the landau and put her onto his horse, he was gravely mistaken. She wasn’t about to mess herself up by riding with him on a horse—and yet, in some small way the romanticism of it all, appealed to her greatly.

  He was only trying to ensure that nothing would stop their wedding, and maybe, if it made him feel good, she should let him have his way.

  “It looks as if I am about to be kidnapped.”

  “We…I could try to turn back, my lady,” the driver said, while the rest of the footmen looked as if they were inclined to fight.

  “Don’t worry, I shall be quite all right. That is not an actual highwayman. That is Freddie. Or rather, that is Lord Knightwick.”

  “Ah,” the men visibly relaxed.

  “If you wish to go along with him, my lady, we shall help you down.”

  Freddie dismounted, and walked over to her. “I think…now that I look upon you, I can’t go through with it. I wouldn’t want to mess up your hair or your dress, and those jewels…damnation. You look a treat, Julia.”

  She smiled at him. “So do you. Now take off that silly mask, Freddie. There is no reason to cover up your handsome visage.”

  He took the mask off, and threw it aside. “One of you shall have to take my horse,” he said to the footmen. One of them hopped down, and took his horse.

  “And now, my love…let us be married,” he said, taking her hand. “I won’t leave you this time around. I won’t leave you ever again.”

  “That is exactly what I wanted to hear, Freddie. I don’t ever want to lose you. We must have a full life ahead of us. Promise me that.”

  “A full long life, and I think that even death couldn’t break our love, Julia.”

  “I think you are right, Freddie.” She kissed him, and wanted to stay forever wrapped safely in his arms.

  “I think,” he said huskily. “I think we should be married and then, I wonder if we could say to hell with the Wedding Feast, and return to Wilton Park instead.”

  “And dash my mother’s hopes?” she asked incredulously.

  “I don’t think your Mama would care in this instance. She can still have her party. She would just have to do without us for a little while.”

  She laughed. “Oh, Freddie. Let us be married first, eh?”

  He chuckled. “As always, my love, you are right.”

  They were married in front of their friends and family in a ceremony that was everything she’d wanted the first time around. Once they signed the necessary documents, they left the church hand in hand, as everyone cheered.

  It was done.

  They were finally husband and wife.

  No one had objected, and Freddie hadn’t left the church without her. She couldn’t quite believe it. She felt as if she walked through a dream, and if it was a dream, she never wanted to wake up.

  Freddie helped her climb up into the landau, and then he climbed up after her, and the driver took them away from the church.

  They looked back and waved at everyone who stood outside of the church. She sighed, as the carriage clattered along the road.

  “Where are we going, Freddie?” she asked, even tho
ugh she already suspected the answer.

  “We are going home,” he said.

  She wanted to argue with him. She wanted to tell him that everyone would be waiting for them back at Castleton Court.

  Would they even show up at their own Wedding Feast?

  She didn’t know—and truthfully, she didn’t care. They could all make merry without them. She and Freddie had waited too long for this day, and what she’d started over a fortnight ago when she’d decided to follow Freddie after he’d left the church, to become his mistress…was finally coming to fruition. She wouldn’t be his mistress this time around, she would be his wife—but she would forever be the mistress of heart.

  “We have come full circle, you and I, Freddie,” she mused.

  “My father told me something that Shakespeare said last night—he said something like the course of true love never did run smooth…he said that he was robbed of having his true love in his life—and that he was happy for me that I didn’t have to suffer the same fate. Promise me that if you ever get the urge to run away you will take me with you.”

  Julia laughed. “I don’t think I would ever want to run away from you, Freddie. In case you haven’t noticed, I have spent the better part of September running toward you…nothing can separate us now. Of course, I might want to run away from Scotland…but I would never leave you, my love, so do not fret.”

  Freddie couldn’t wait until they reached Wilton Park. He wanted to make love to Julia and keep her within his embrace for the next couple of days. He knew she’d probably try encouraging him to make an appearance at their Wedding Feast, but he had no plans to leave Wilton Park once they reached it, and he hoped that she wouldn’t want to leave it either.

  “Freddie, if we do continue onward to Wilton Park, my mother will never stop talking about our Wedding Feast that wasn’t. If you think she is going to be a formidable mother-in-law, just think what she will be like, if we shirk our duties today.”

  He groaned. “Fine. You can have your way, Julia. I don’t think I can possibly deny you whatever you want. I suppose that will be how our marriage will work. You will get your way in everything.”