Embracing Ashberry

by Serenity Everton

  Ashberry concentrated on his wife’s face, the words coming almost without thought. “I hope it fits—Wendy took one of your gowns for the seamstress to copy.”

  Ellie’s head turned around then and she saw him. “It’s beautiful,” she sighed, “but why?”

  He shrugged. “I adored the gown you wore here for Charlotte’s dinner party. This one reminded me of it—you are incredible covered in gold. And, and I knew you had never been to a ball here in England. I thought it was probably a gown missing from your wardrobe.”

  Ellie laughed but the sound was unsure. “I, I don’t think I have anywhere to wear this.” Ashberry nodded. “I know,” he agreed, and then smiled. “You can wear it for me, you know. It need not be to a ball.”

  She nodded. “I will.” She laid the fabric down completely and turned to him. “You know that Mama insisted on a complete trousseau. I really need nothing.”

  Ashberry smiled. “Need, my dear, is one thing. I am giving you gifts and I shall hope you enjoy them. Not because you need them.” He paused, adding, “There is a seamstress at Ashberry Park who will sew anything for you—and if she cannot, she will find someone who can. I hope you approve of her work.”

  Ellie touched the other box. “Another gown?” she asked quietly.

  His face gave no hint. “You’ll have to open it.”

  She did. It did contain a gown, a carriage dress of deep russet gold with a matching jacket for the winter, a lovely pair of patent boots, warmer gloves, a scarf to wear around her neck, an additional chemise of material so fine she could see through it in the box to the most beautiful nightgown she had ever seen, of golden silk. It would fall to her feet with a slit that would run higher than her knees but would leave her shoulders uncovered, and with it she found a matching silk robe. She couldn’t help the blush that covered her cheeks.

  “This is scandalous,” she whispered.

  He shook his head. “Not between us,” he disagreed softly. “You look incredible in gold, a flickering candle with a mahogany wick.”

  She seemed to relax at the words, moving to stand before him. “Thank you,” she said softly.

  Ashberry cupped her face in his hands and smiled. “I shall look forward to seeing you in it.” He was satisfied by her blush, but did not continue until Carrie and the other men had left the room again. “There is one thing.”

  “What is it?” Ellie looked at him, concern on her face.

  He smiled and stroked her chin with his thumb. “I suppose it hasn’t occurred to you yet, and I have this selfish need to let you think about it before we leave on Wednesday.” Ellie’s face wrinkled in confusion and Ashberry took the opportunity to lean down and rested his forehead on hers so that their noses touched. “Ella, dear, you won’t have a maid after we leave Harlan Chase. I’m afraid I’ll have to assume those duties.” He watched her eyes widen and lifted his face as she bit her lip and took a shallow breath. “I shall endeavor to do well,” he added in a whisper that made her racing heart skip a beat.

  He stepped back and added for the benefit of the listening servants who appeared again with their buckets of steaming water. “I shall leave you to your bath, my dear. You know where to find me.”

  Ellie dimly went through the morning after he left, hardly remembering her bath or the breakfast that followed it. She returned to her sitting room after, thinking only in the late morning that perhaps she could escape the house and Ashberry’s company for a final afternoon. She decided to call on her mother and after calling for the carriage, Carrie helped her don her gloves and cloak before she descended the stairs, nodding confidently to Alexander. He opened the front doors promptly and only then did Ellie stop, for instead of a carriage and footman, her husband and his phaeton awaited.

  The girl paused but found no plausible reason to refuse his assumption. “I was thinking,” she told him, “Of visiting Mama and my brothers. I feel sure she will call tomorrow, it being my last day in London, but I don’t know if she would bring my brothers and I would like very much to see them both again.”

  Ashberry nodded. He was not surprised when Alexander had informed him that her ladyship wished to go out. In fact, he rather suspected he had driven her to it himself. He allowed her some distance in the phaeton, speaking only when they came near to the Whitney house. “I imagine my sisters will also come to visit tomorrow, as well as Aunt Lucy and Sebastian. The boys will be leaving for Aunt Lucy’s in the afternoon, you know. I suppose you will be awhile at your parents?” he asked politely.

  “Probably,” she said unrepentantly. “You may come if you like, though I doubt Father or Edward will be at the house.”

  “I thought I might settle the remainder of my accounts, then go to White’s, if my absence would not offend?”

  Ellie smiled. He seemed to understand that she was feeling quite overwhelmed by him at that moment. “It would not offend,” she said quietly. “Thank you for escorting me.”

  “I have no intention of letting you run away, even for an afternoon,” he warned with a smile, his hand reaching to close around one of hers. “Though you have good reasons for wanting to visit your mother and siblings, I will not allow you to use it as an excuse to avoid me.”

  Her head turned to him sharply. “I was not running away,” she denied.

  The marquess smiled and squeezed her hand for releasing it. “Not physically,” he agreed, “but in spirit you were.”

  Ellie could not deny the charge. She had purposely not told him she intended to go out and had known when she had seen him waiting that the staff must have informed him almost immediately.

  Ashberry lifted her out of the phaeton when they arrived, setting her on the walk as Fields opened the door. “Miss Ella, I mean, my lady,” he greeted her, seeming pleased.

  The marquess was silent as Ellie inquired about her mother. “I’m sure she’ll see you, my lady,” Fields assured her. “And if not immediately, then Master Richard will be glad for a respite from the difficulties of his Latin lessons.”

  The butler, Ashberry recalled, was clearly on good terms with the family. He tipped the man generously as Ellie turned to go inside, receiving a questioning look. “You’ve taken good care of her for several years, Fields,” he murmured. “And I’d like to thank you for your loyalty to her family. I’ll be back in three hours to retrieve her. Make sure she doesn’t set out on her own in the meantime.”

  “Of course, my lord,” the man replied as quietly. “If she insists on returning to Ashberry House before your return, I will escort her myself.”

  “I’ll be at White’s. Send a message.” Ashberry watched his wife disappear inside the house before concluding, “Good day to you, Fields.”

  “And to you, my lord,” the butler answered, watching as the marquess climbed up into his seat and drove away.

  The message came nearly an hour after Ashberry had arrived at the club, as he read the newssheet published that morning. He grimaced as he unfolded the note, delivered by messenger. It was simple and to the point, though the butler’s penmanship was excellent.

  I am escorting Lady E to Ashberry House. She is quite flustered. F.

  Ashberry said nothing to the gentlemen in the club beyond a simple farewell. He arrived home promptly, where Alexander quickly had the door open for him. The man did not wait for him to ask. “She went to her sitting room, my lord. I spoke with Fields, he said her father and Edward came home during her call and she wished to leave almost immediately, while her father and mother were arguing. Fields asked me to give you a message: Edward will come by late tonight to see you.”

  The marquess listened even as he stripped off his greatcoat and hat. Alexander had to follow him up the stairs to finish the message, for Ashberry was intent on his wife. To the butler, he said only, “We may be awhile. No interruptions.” Alexander watched his lord stride away, purposeful in his step, and when he returned to his duties, the concern showed clearly on his face.

  Inside the sitting room, Ellie sat on a
sofa, staring blindly ahead of her. Her face was dry but Ashberry did not hesitate. The redness of her eyes and the stiffness of her posture were all the indications he needed. Without speaking, he bent beside her and lifted her into his arms.

  She did not fight him. Instead, she turned her head to his shoulder, pressing her face there. He carried her only as far as the nearest armchair, settling into it as the sobs began.

  He held her there, unmoving, silent until she quieted against him. Until she whispered, “I don’t know him at all. I never did.”

  “Your father?” he asked, for clarification.

  “When he came in,” she explained, “The only thing he said to me was ‘I knew you’d be back.’”

  Ashberry held his breath for a moment as he forced the anger forming inside him back down into his lungs. He kissed the top of her head and waited, knowing Ellie well enough now to tell that she hadn’t finished.

  “I didn’t know what to say but Mama was very angry. We’d had a nice visit, you know, and I had said my goodbyes to Richard and John. She started to scold him, as she does, and Edward took me by the hand and led me nearly to the door.”

  “And?”

  “Papa. He, he got very angry, angrier than I’ve ever seen him. He, he said that Edward needn’t take Mama’s side and force me out of the room and back to you, that I should stay at home where I belonged. He told Edward that you didn’t want me, that I was too ashamed to admit that you had brought me to ask if I could come home to stay.” She shifted a little against him, until Ashberry curled an arm around her back so that he could press her head against him.

  He leaned down and kissed her forehead as she added, “I didn’t know what to say, so I just turned around and walked out. Edward came after me and told Fields to bring me home. I think Edward knew how ... upset I was, that I wouldn’t want to wait for him to calm Papa down. Anyway, he said he had to go back upstairs, that he couldn’t leave Mama with Papa behaving like that.”

  Ashberry drew a deep breath. The pain in her voice was clear and sorrowful and a ball of anger formed in his stomach. “You’re safe,” he murmured, “And I won’t let anyone, even your father, hurt you anymore, Ella dear.”

  She shuddered against him, the trembling so intense that he held her against him for dear life. His hug was nearly crushing but she didn’t seem to mind, only pressed her nose against him and sobbed again.

  Her question was a whisper, so soft that he could hardly discern it. “He wasn’t right, was he?”

  “Your father?” Ashberry rubbed her back through the silk of her gown, frowning at the corset constricting her form. He pressed his lips to the top of her head, his voice quiet. “No, Ella dear, he’s not right. There is nothing on this earth that I want more than you, nothing that could ever allow me to send you away from me. You’re mine, my dear, and I will want you to remain so for as long as God gives us.”

  She seemed to settle at his reassurance, nodding against him. For many long minutes, he just held her, occasionally kissing her forehead, stroking her hair, even rubbing her neck and back. He kept one hand on her thighs or around her waist and held her firmly with the other. Mostly, though, he just thought. Not about Ellie, though occasionally the curve of her breasts would penetrate his mind. Mostly, he thought about her father, for Ashberry’s mind was concentrated on the baron’s irrational and oddly possessive behavior whenever he interacted with the girl.

  It wasn’t until much later that he realized Ellie was asleep. Her breathing had slowed, so he eased her back onto his arm, pleased when she rolled toward him, her body trusting even though her mind did not fully.

  He sighed before he lifted her into his arms. She did not wake, though he carried her through to her chamber and laid her carefully on the bed. He called for the maid to sit with her before he descended the stairs, hardly surprised to find the butler ready with a question. “Is her ladyship well?”

  “She’ll be fine, Alexander,” he replied carefully. “Summon all the senior staff, including Riley, to my study. I think we may have a problem.”

  In no time, Ashberry faced his loyal staff. “Under no circumstances are you to provide Lord Whitney with admittance to the house and especially not to my wife unless I give my permission. In addition, any inquiries from him about his daughter are to be directed to me, immediately. The same will apply to Ashberry Park. Alexander, I trust you will convey my wishes to the staff there.”

  Their faces were concerned and Ashberry looked at each carefully as he spoke. “In addition, our lady will not visit the Whitney house unless I accompany her. I will be seeking information about the baron himself in my absence. I will explain my purpose to Riley, who will organize the investigation.” The servants said nothing—Riley was on the staff because the marquess found him useful in a number of ways unrelated to the dinner table or front hall and they were accustomed to his role as investigator and rumor chaser.

  Only Alexander asked a question. “Does the same apply to our lady’s siblings and mother, my lord?” he asked.

  Ashberry paused for a moment then shook his head. “No, I am only concerned with the baron himself. Your lady will decide when she is available to the others and when not—and I should expect Lady Whitney and her sons tomorrow, Alexander, as well as my sisters. You will bring Edward Whitney directly to me when he arrives tonight?”

  “Of course, my lord,” Alexander answered smoothly.

  “I realize we will not be in residence much longer, and that you have not had much of an opportunity to develop a relationship with Lady Ashberry. However, I would remind you that she is my wife and I will protect and defend her at all costs. Am I clear?”

  He was. Satisfied by their answers, he dismissed them all except Riley and settled into his chair, still deep in thought. To the underbutler, his words were quiet and contemplative, filled with a deep concern that the ex-pickpocket understood. Ashberry had met Riley at Eton and the two had been together ever since. It was Riley who Ashberry entrusted with his most sensitive papers, Riley who had been the intermediary when Ashberry found himself holding unpaid markers from members of the ton to his father and Riley who had saved his life on the streets of London, for Ashberry had taken the young ne’er-do-well and given him the resources to transform himself him into a loyal, muscular and literate assistant.

  It wasn’t until the conversation was finished that Ashberry inquired after his brothers. Hearing that they had not yet returned from their expedition to Tattersall’s and then Hyde Park, accompanied by Sebastian, he returned to Ellie’s bedside, dismissing the maid with a nod of his head.

  He turned the armchair they had shared to face her and sat quietly until she awoke. When she stirred, he stood and moved to sit beside her on the bed, unsurprised that she chose to sit rather than remain lying with him above her. “Good evening,” he murmured.

  Ellie blinked her eyes, flushing as his eyes passed over her. “Hello,” she finally returned. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

  “The rest, I’m sure, was good for you,” he said dismissively before taking her hands in his. “Will you be able to manage dinner with my brothers?”

  “Will you be there?” she asked, seriously considering for a moment the prospect of a tray in her own room.

  He nodded. “I will not leave you alone, Ella, unless you wish it.”

  “In truth,” Ellie admitted haltingly, “I do not wish to be alone.” She swallowed. “I have to confess to you that this afternoon maybe I was running away from you, at least for a few hours,” she admitted. “But it was a disaster, wasn’t it?”

  The marquess squeezed her hands then released them to run his thumbs down her cheeks. “You did nothing wrong in going to visit your family, Ella.”

  She shook her head. “I know that running away doesn’t work, Ashberry,” she objected. “And I won’t do it again.” Her eyes met his, clearly and without fear.

  He accepted her promise without exclamation and then told her, “Edward will be coming to see me
tonight, so do not be offended when we shut ourselves away in my study.”

  “I won’t,” she whispered. “He was protecting me again. If he hadn’t been there,” she worried, biting her lip, “I would probably still be there, with Papa screaming at Mama and I both.”

  Ashberry smiled a little. “I would have rescued you before now, sweet Ella,” he objected and then rejoiced when her lips curved just slightly. “And I will prevent any repeats of the incident,” he added more seriously.

  “How?” she asked, suspicions rising.

  “You, dear Ella, are not to go to your parents’ house unless I go with you,” he said firmly and Ellie stiffened. She recognized the tone as one that would not tolerate objections but could not in good conscience abandon her mother. Ashberry stopped her objection with a finger laid gently on her lips. “Your mother will undoubtedly call on you tomorrow, will she not?” At Ellie’s nod, he continued, “And the next morning we will be leaving. Promise me that you will not make any foolish attempts to see your father before then.”

  Ellie frowned. “I have never seen him act like he did,” she worried. “What if he hurt Mama?”

  Ashberry’s brow curved with concern, for he had the same thoughts. “I will be discussing the situation with Edward and we will address all your worries. Now promise me,” he insisted.

  Ellie knew she was defeated and truth be told, she was relieved that she could defer the burdens of her concern to Ashberry. “I promise,” she said softly, wondering at how easy it was. She speculated whether he knew how much she entrusted to him, even as she shared, “Mama told me that Papa wants to return to Cornwall at the end of the month for the hunting season.” She grimaced. “I don’t think she wanted to go. Mama has resisted going back ever since we left.”

  Ashberry nodded, tucking the information inside his head, knowing he would pass it on to Riley. “It’s not quite time to dress for dinner. Is there anything you need to do this afternoon or would you like simply to rest?”