A Midsummer Bride

by Amanda Forester

  “I never wished to wed for anything less than love. And so I am asking ye, beyond all practicality or reason, will ye be my wife?”

  She paused a moment, waiting for the anguish of gut-wrenching indecision, which never came. She knew exactly what she wanted, what her parents would want for her. “My answer is yes.”

  “I understand, but I needed to…” He stopped for a moment, the meaning of her words beginning to dawn on him. “Did ye say yes?”

  Harriet nodded with a wide grin.

  “She said yes!” Lord Langley crushed them with a large hug.

  “She said yes,” said the dowager duchess with a self-satisfied smile. “My solicitor will contact you.”

  “Not yet!” demanded Langley. “They need to be wed first. And I have the paper to do it!” He produced a special license with a flourish.

  “You knew I would marry Lord Thornton?” gasped Harriet.

  “I had them leave the groom’s name blank,” admitted Langley.

  “How much do you think he had to bribe the clerk to do that?” muttered Penelope.

  “Is this really what you want?” Harriet asked Duncan.

  “I will meet ye at the kirk tomorrow,” declared Duncan with a gleaming smile.

  “Duncan!” Lady Thornton walked to them and Harriet’s heart sank. Duncan’s mother had not been supportive of her when she first arrived and everyone knew Lady Thornton wished her son to marry Miss Crawley.

  “Mother, I hope ye will wish us happy,” said Thornton, the reserve in his voice returning.

  Harriet held her breath, waiting for the final verdict.

  “I will indeed wish for ye all the happiness in the world if ye will do the same for me. Sir Antony has proposed,” announced Lady Thornton.

  “What?” Duncan gasped.

  “She said yes!” exclaimed Sir Antony standing next to Lady Thornton with a smile that belonged on a much younger man.

  “Mother, I had no idea,” said Duncan.

  “Sons are never much aware of their mothers,” said Lady Thornton, but she smiled when she said it. “I also was not aware of your true feelings for Miss Redgrave.”

  “She is my choice, Mother,” said Duncan, as if warding off disapproval.

  “And no doubt better than my choice for you,” Lady Thornton whispered to her son, referring to Miss Crawley.

  “Thank ye,” said Duncan, relaxing again. “I wish ye and Sir Antony a happy marriage.”

  “My dear Harriet,” Lady Thornton said, giving Harriet a kiss on the cheek. “Welcome to the family.”

  “Thank you,” said Harriet, and could not help but smile.

  “Do me the honor of wearing this on your wedding day.” Lady Thornton removed her intricately woven delicate silver crown and gave it to Harriet. “They say this was worn by Maid Marion herself when she wed Robin Hood. I cannot say if that is true, but it has been worn by generations of Maclachlan brides.”

  Harriet understood the magnitude of this acceptance. “Thank you, Lady Thornton,” she whispered in a voice suddenly choked with emotion.

  “You shall bear that title now,” said Duncan’s mother. “It never suited me, but I think it will fit you much better.”

  “Are you certain you wish to be wed tomorrow?” Harriet looked up at Duncan.

  “Aye, lassie.” And he sealed the proposal with a kiss.

  And another.

  And another.

  Until even Lord Langley was forced to separate the two of them. “Save it for tomorrow night!”

  Forty-two

  “Not too late to make a run for it,” said Marchford in a low voice as he stood next to Thornton at the front of the chapel, waiting for the bride to arrive.

  “Too late for me,” said Thornton. “She’s stolen my heart.”

  “Doubt the magistrate will take that case. You’re on your own.”

  “Aye, but no’ for long.”

  “Incorrigible,” muttered Marchford. “It is as if you wanted to be leg-shackled.”

  “Aye, I do. And someday I hope it happens to ye too.”

  Thornton heard the guests who had filled the village kirk rise, and he knew Harriet had entered the chapel. He had initially been concerned that his guests might not come, considering some of the rumors that had circulated about Harriet, but he need not have worried. With the same passion with which they had decried her as dangerous, they now lauded her as a hero.

  Following tradition, Thornton faced the altar and could not look to see his bride approach, though he was sorely tempted. When she finally reached the altar, he turned to her and his breath caught. She was tall as a statue and just as shapely, dressed in a simple white gown with a baby-blue sash under the bust line. Her dark red hair fell in ringlets and was framed with the silver woven band, the crown of Maid Marion. She was going to be his wife. All the pain, all the trouble they had been through came down to this moment.

  “Dearly beloved,” began the minister.

  “Stop!” The doors banged open and a man wearing a brace of pistols and a cutlass strode inside.

  Thornton immediately pulled Harriet behind him and he and Marchford acted as a human shield against this unknown threat. For all the world, the man looked like a pirate, his dark hair was slashed with silver and he had a wicked scar across his cheek.

  “Where is my daughter?” demanded the large man. “Where is she?” He was followed by four younger men, all tall, grim-faced, and armed.

  “Ye can have no business here,” warned Thornton. “Ye will leave at once!”

  “They told us at the house you had come here, and I’m not leaving without my daughter!” demanded the man.

  Harriet wiggled around Thornton. “Papa?”

  “Harriet, my pumpkin!” Captain Redgrave opened his arms and Harriet ran to him.

  “This is yer father?” Thornton could only stare in amazement. What kind of man was this?

  Harriet hugged the man with delight. “I am so happy to see you! And all my brothers too!” Harriet gave hugs to all the men now crowding the space between the altar and the pews. “Papa, this is Lord Thornton. Lord Thornton, may I present my brothers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But how did you find me all the way in Scotland?”

  “Captain Wentworth was able to make it back to shore and send notice to us of what happened,” said Captain Redgrave. “I gathered the boys and we left the next day. Took a bit to track you down in London. Had a talk with that Captain Beake and finally we found where you had gone and traveled to get you. Did you ever think for a moment that I would not come for you?”

  “I did not know if Wentworth would make it to shore. I am relieved to hear he did,” said Harriet.

  “That was quite an entrance, my dear,” said a dignified lady joining the party.

  Lord Langley stood, his mouth agape. “Beatrice?”

  “Hello, Father.”

  No one spoke. It was the return of Lord Langley’s insane daughter, who looked remarkably self-composed for a madwoman.

  Langley moved to the aisle before her. “Beatrice,” he said again and took a step toward her, but stopped as if unsure how to bridge the gap between them.

  No one moved. It was utterly silent in the chapel. Langley held out his hands to his daughter. “Forgive me, Bea. I have been an unmitigated ass.”

  Lady Beatrice smiled and strode to him, hugging her father and kissing him on the cheek. “You have no idea how long I have waited to hear you say that.”

  “Too long. My fault entirely,” admitted Langley.

  “These are your grandsons,” said Beatrice, “and my husband, Captain Redgrave.”

  Again everyone again held their breath as Lord Langley confronted the American who had stolen away his daughter. Captain Redgrave was a large, muscular man, and even if he had not been wearing a brace of pistols with a cutlass stuck in his belt, he would still have appeared rather dangerous.

  “He looks like a hero from all those romance books I told you not to read,” muttered Langley, shakin
g his head.

  Lady Beatrice smiled. “Yes, he does.”

  “Lord Langley, I’m Captain Redgrave. Nice to meet you.” Captain Redgrave held out his hand.

  Lord Langley surveyed Captain Redgrave with displeasure. “Captain Redgrave,” he said and shook the captain’s hand with an obvious reluctance. He may be reconciled to his daughter but decidedly not to the man who stole her away.

  Thornton was at a loss for what to do. Now that her parents had arrived, would she like to visit with them before the wedding? Would she call off the wedding entirely?

  “Harriet,” he said quietly. “Perhaps we should stop and spend time wi’ yer parents.”

  “Do you not want to get married?” Her eyes were wide.

  “Aye, o’ course I wish to marry ye. But do ye wish to speak first wi’ yer parents?”

  “Yes, yes, she does!” demanded Captain Redgrave. “Exactly who do you think you are, trying to marry my daughter?” Captain Redgrave gave him a furious glare, flanked by four younger copies of himself with equal animosity.

  “Papa, this is Duncan Maclachlan, he is the Earl of Thornton,” said Harriet.

  “Don’t care. You’re not marrying him.”

  “Papa!”

  “No. Never going to happen! I won’t have you running off with some man I’ve never met to some strange country far away from me.”

  “Is that not exactly how we were wed?” asked his wife with a crooked smile.

  “No, we were… it was completely different…” Redgrave stuttered and blustered until his shoulders sagged. “Oh hell and bother.”

  “Watch your language, you’re in a church,” chastised Lady Beatrice.

  “Lord Langley,” said Redgrave with his head bowed. “I never knew till this moment. I am so, so sorry.”

  Langley’s lips twitched up. “Horrible, I know.”

  “How did you survive it?”

  “Bourbon. I’ll pour you a glass when we are done here.”

  Lady Beatrice glided to her daughter and held both her hands. “You look lovely as always. I am so relieved to find you so well.”

  “Thank you.” Harriet hugged her mother. “I was mostly concerned that you would be worried about me.”

  “I could not call myself a mother if I did not worry about you. But you are well?” she asked with a hint of anxiety.

  “Very well.”

  “And you wish to marry Lord Thornton?”

  Harriet met Duncan’s eyes. “Yes. I love him.”

  Those simple words melted away any fear or doubt Duncan had harbored. If Harriet loved him, all would be well.

  “I wish you every happiness in the world,” said Lady Beatrice to her daughter.

  “I only hope to be as happy as you and Papa,” said Harriet.

  “Sit down, boys,” said Lady Beatrice to her sons.

  “But, Mother, you can’t expect us to let our sister get married to some bloke we don’t know,” argued the tallest Redgrave son.

  “Yes, that is exactly what I expect you to do.”

  “But—”

  “Sit!” commanded Lady Beatrice in a tone only a peer of the realm could muster.

  They sat.

  “I cannot allow this to continue.” Captain Redgrave had turned sullen.

  “You must trust,” said his wife.

  “I have never even met this man. How can I trust him?”

  “You must learn to trust your daughter,” said Beatrice.

  Captain Redgrave was silent for a moment. “I hate it when you’re right.”

  “I thought you would be accustomed to it by now,” murmured Beatrice.

  “I will allow this to continue on one condition,” demanded Captain Redgrave. “If she is getting married, I am going to walk her down the aisle!”

  So the bride, deciding it was good form to humor her well-armed father, walked down the aisle once more, this time on the arm of a snarling pirate. With one raise of her eyebrow, Lady Beatrice snapped her husband’s behavior back into good regulation.

  “Are ye certain ye wish to be wed today?” whispered Duncan when Harriet was once again standing by his side.

  “I do,” whispered Harriet in return. “My family can be overwhelming. Do you still wish to marry me?”

  “I do.”

  Forty-three

  She was a married lady. Married! Harriet smiled broadly as people greeted her and Thornton in the receiving line.

  “Your wedding will be talked about forever, Lady Thornton,” said one lady. “It was so… exciting!”

  “Yes, it was unlike any I have ever seen, Lady Thornton,” said one young lady. “And your brothers are all so handsome!”

  Lady Thornton. It took Harriet a while before she stopped looking around for Duncan’s mother and realized they were talking about her. She smiled at Duncan. He smiled back. All was right in her world.

  She greeted everyone in the line as they went into the dining room. Last in line was her father, hands folded across his chest, a furious frown on his face. Her mother was by his side, looking radiant.

  “Thought of something,” said Captain Redgrave with a growl. “We need to complete the marriage settlements for Harriet’s dowry.”

  “I have had papers drawn up that states that whatever Harriet brings to the marriage will remain within her control, for her and her children,” said Thornton.

  Harriet’s parents glanced at each other and then at her.

  “Duncan says he does not care at all about financial concerns,” said Harriet, wishing she had a moment alone with him to break the news about her dowry. She gave her parents a tight smile and willed them not to say anything to give away her little secret before she could tell him in her own way… preferably after their first child was born.

  “Well then. Very good,” said her father, his face relaxing into a smile. “Can’t raise a complaint about those terms.”

  “No, indeed,” said her mother with a little crease between her eyebrows that told Harriet she suspected something was amiss. Harriet knew her mother would not betray her suspicions, but her father was not known for delicacy.

  “Glad to hear you are not one of those impoverished peers looking to marry an heiress to set your course to rights.” Captain Redgrave slapped Thornton hard on the back and put his arm around him with a jovial smile.

  “Perhaps we should go in to dinner,” said Harriet, desperate to change the subject. “I think they are waiting for us.”

  “Yes, of course,” said her mother smoothly, guiding her husband to the door.

  “Hullo there!” Harriet’s four brothers ran into the room. To be fair, they were actually walking, but they were so large and moved so quickly, they gave the impression of a run.

  “Not too late for the receiving line I trust,” said Matthew, shaking Thornton’s hand.

  “Got a good girl here in Harriet,” said Mark.

  “You are aware she likes to blow things up?” asked Luke.

  “Nothing to worry about,” said John. “That fifty-thousand-pound dowry will pay for a lot of singed draperies, eh?”

  Lord Thornton said not a word, but Harriet could sense every muscle in his body tighten. He turned to her with a cold stare. “Let us go in to dinner.”

  ***

  Harriet wanted to strangle her brothers. She wished so many times to see her brothers again, and yet now that they were here, she wished they would go back to America. Preferably tonight. It was not that they were loud and large and ate too much and laughed too loud; it was their repeated jokes about the size of her dowry and Thornton’s good fortune.

  Since Thornton had been particularly sensitive to not marrying a girl of good fortune, and indeed had thought he was marrying one with none at all, Harriet was sure her brother’s merciless jabs about the size of her “assets” were not received with good humor.

  She tried unsuccessfully to get them to stop. They were a force of nature and railing against them was as effective as rebuking the waves. Her four older brother
s ran free until Harriet pleaded with her mother to stop them. Lady Beatrice, though dwarfed by her sons, managed to rein them in with effectiveness, if not with ease.

  Thornton was unreadable. He was pleasant and solemn. Not good. After dinner, the women whisked her away to prepare for her wedding night with the idea that Thornton would join her shortly. She had been given what she suspected had been Lady Thornton’s bedroom, and after some preparatory primping and discussing of the night before her, both of which she found rather embarrassing, she was left to wait for her lord alone.

  Trouble was, he did not appear.

  Harriet paced the room and even tried rereading a chapter of Lavoisier’s book on chemistry but nothing helped. He had not arrived and she doubted he ever would. Time to take matters into her own hands.

  She slipped down the hall to the master bedroom. She tested his latch and it was unlocked. She took a deep breath. Was she really going to do this? She pulled on the latch and the door swung open. Duncan was sitting at a writing desk. He had removed his cravat and his shirt hung open. He stood when he saw her, saying nothing.

  She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She felt powerful; she could find him; she could take what she wanted. And right now what she wanted was him.

  “I was waiting for you,” she said.

  “I have written a letter for ye. Would you care to read it?” He held out a paper before her.

  “You can tell me yourself.”

  “It would be easier if ye read it.”

  “I am not here to make things easy for you.” No, indeed, she was here to make things hard.

  Duncan cleared his throat. “Considering yer parents are here now, and considering yer assets of which I heretofore had no prior knowledge—”

  “I am going to kill my brothers.”

  “I could suggest some methods. But be that as it may, I think it best if we quietly annul this misguided marriage and allow ye to return home.”

  “Duncan, I know nothing can forgive the iniquity of being rich—”

  “Obscenely rich.”

  “Yes, yes, all right, you needn’t make it worse than it is. As I was saying, I know it was wrong of me not to clarify your misunderstanding about my dowry, but you did say you did not care about the money.”