Compromised for Christmas

by Charles, Jane

“It is yours, too.” He took her hands and pulled her to stand before him. “That is, if you wish to continue working for the Home Office.”

  “I do, which is why we can’t risk them meeting you.”

  “How will you explain my disappearance?”

  Elizabeth pulled away and walked to the fireplace. “I am sure I will think of something.” She turned suddenly and grinned. “I’ll tell Grandfather he scared you off and you are probably halfway to France.”

  “That is rather insulting, since the only thing he ordered me to do was get you with child. A man would not run from that.”

  Her face once again turned a lovely hue of rose, and it was not easy to forget that a bed sat not far away. Would it be so bad to give up working for England, settle down, and have children with Elizabeth?

  John stifled the thought. How would he support a wife, the granddaughter of Danby no less? He had no skills other than those used to benefit England. He supposed he could beg his father for his allowance. No, he didn’t want to do that either. He was a man and should support his wife and children with whatever means it took. He would just need to figure out what those means were.

  “What do you care what they think? Jean Pierre doesn’t really exist. It isn’t as if John Trent is running from the thought of bedding his wife.”

  “And, he never would.” He took a few steps forward and drew Elizabeth into his arms and kissed her gently. “What do you think of your family knowing the truth?”

  Elizabeth pulled away. “No. There are so many of them, all of England would know before the first of the year. I could not go back to doing what I love.”

  John pulled her back to him. “Did you really love it all that much?”

  Elizabeth bit her bottom lip. “It wasn’t as exciting as I dreamed it would be. After the first few months, it was easy to move about in the palace, serving Napoleon as if he were any other man, passing on what bit of information I could lay my hands on. It became so easy it became boring, I suppose.” She moved away to sit on the bed. “The most excitement I have had in the last two years was when we needed to escape.”

  “You were lucky, as was I, to work in our positions for so long.”

  “Still, it was better than the alternative.”

  “Which is?”

  “Another Season in London with Grandfather pushing different lords in my direction.”

  As elegant as Elizabeth appeared at the moment, she would fit in well in the ballrooms of London, but he knew she would lose patience with those dandies within the first hour.

  He settled on the bed beside her. “Since you don’t want to return to society, I assume you still want to continue working for the Home Office?”

  She turned to look at him. “Yes. Don’t you?”

  So much for the two of them having a future. “Very well. I will leave here early and take care to avoid any of your family.”

  “I’ll explain that you, that…oh, I’ll think of something by then.”

  Elizabeth watched John move about the darkened chamber as he dressed and packed his belongings back into his bag. She wanted to ask him to stay. She was not ready to part from him again. The first time was difficult enough; today it was doubly so. But to ask him to stay meant asking him to give up life as he knew it, and that was something she would never do.

  He straightened and paused, bag in his hand. She rose from the bed to approach him. No words were spoken this morning. What was there to say? Instead, he dropped the bag and pulled her close. His lips told her everything she needed, and tears stung at the back of her lids.

  John pulled away and looked down at her. “Be safe.”

  Elizabeth forced a smile. “You too.”

  He turned to open the door and stepped out into the hall, colliding with someone stalking towards the stairs.

  “Trent, what the hell are you doing here?”

  “Bloody hell.” It was said low, but Elizabeth heard John just the same.

  “Get in here, both of you, before you disturb the entire household.”

  Her cousin Nicholas and John stepped inside. It was John who pushed the door closed, while Nicholas stood, arms crossed over his chest, feet braced, looking back and forth between the two. Oh, this was not going to go well at all. Nicholas tended to be a tad bit protective and wasn’t afraid to use his fists.

  She rushed forwards to hug her cousin. “Nick, it is so good to see you. How have you been?”

  He didn’t return her embrace but glared at John. “Where is your husband, Jean Pierre?”

  Elizabeth’s eyes sought John’s. She would let him explain who Jean Pierre was.

  John took a step back and leaned against the door. “I am Jean Pierre Bouvier.”

  “The hell you are!” Nicholas turned on her. “What is going on here, Elizabeth?”

  “In France, he is known as Jean Pierre Bouvier.” It wasn’t an explanation, but all she was willing to offer. Somehow she had to save John’s career.

  “I don’t care what he is known by anywhere else. That is John Phillip Trent.” Nicholas pointed an accusing finger towards the door where John stood. “And I want to know what he was doing in your bedchamber, especially this early in the morning?”

  “Because Grandfather thinks we are married.”

  Nicholas glared down at her. “Are you married to anyone, Elizabeth?”

  “Well, you see…” How could she explain without ruining everything for John?

  “No,” John answered as he pulled away from the door and sauntered towards Nicholas. “But, there is a very good explanation.”

  Nicholas raised an eyebrow and his arms dropped to his side.

  John took a step back. “I need for you to swear secrecy.”

  “I am not doing a blasted thing until you explain to me what you are doing in my unmarried cousin’s bedroom.”

  Elizabeth grabbed Nick’s arm. She knew that look too well, and if she didn’t stop him, Nick would flatten John’s nose before he had a chance to defend himself. “Nicholas, please. Let us explain, and I beg of you, you must never tell anyone.”

  He looked down into her eyes as if weighing his decision. “Very well, but only for you, and I am giving myself the option to change my mind.”

  It was as good a promise as she was going to get from him. “You see, I haven’t been married living in the south of France all this time.”

  Nicholas grunted. “So I gathered.”

  “I was working in Tuileries.”

  Nicholas barked out laughter. “You actually expect me to believe that. I’d be more likely to believe that John is this Jean Pierre.”

  “It is the truth.” The cold, reasonable voice came from John. “We have both been working for the Home Office.”

  Nicholas looked back and forth between them a few times before he sank into a chair. The serious looks on their faces combined with John’s tone must have convinced him.

  John offered an abridged version of how they came to be at the castle. “So, do you see why secrecy is of utmost importance?”

  Nicholas stood, more relaxed than he had been when he first entered the room.

  “Yes, I do. And I will guard your secret. However, you still shared a bed with my cousin.”

  John grinned. “I slept on that blasted settee all night.”

  Nicholas looked to where John pointed. A pillow and blanket were still there as evidence. He looked back at John. “Then you are assuring me that you have never touched my cousin at any time during all those years at the palace?”

  “No. She would not even allow the slightest peck on the cheek.”

  Elizabeth smiled at the thick French accent she had come to recognize as Jean Pierre.

  “And when you escaped? During those weeks of traveling up the river, and across the channel, just the two of you?”

  Elizabeth held her breath. Would John lie to Nicholas?

  “Explain touch.”

  The tension flew back into Nicholas’s shoulders and his hands fisted. “Y
ou bloody bastard. You know exactly what I mean by touch. Did you compromise Elizabeth in any way?”

  “If you are asking if I made love to her, then the answer is yes.”

  Elizabeth sucked in a breath and reached for Nicholas’s arm, but it was too late. His fist connected with John’s nose, and blood splattered onto his shirt.

  “That was not necessary.” Elizabeth put herself between the two men. “I am old enough to take care of myself and make my own decisions. Do not punish John for something I wanted.”

  “I refuse to believe he did not seduce you.” He pushed her out of the way and leaned towards John. “You, I will meet tomorrow morning in the south field.”

  “No,” Elizabeth cried.

  “Really, you wish to challenge me and face me on Christmas morning?”

  Thank goodness tomorrow was Christmas. It gave her time to stop this madness.

  “The day after.” Nicholas grabbed Elizabeth’s wrist. “You are coming with me.”

  She dug in her heels. “I am most certainly not.”

  He swung around, shaking his finger at her. “You will not be alone with him again.”

  “Danby already thinks he is my husband. How do you suggest I avoid him when Grandfather refused to give him his own chamber last night?”

  Nicholas opened his mouth to speak, then closed it.

  “Are you going to renege on your promise so quickly?”

  “No.” He let go and turned. “I will think of something. Grandfather would have an apoplexy if he ever learned what you have really been doing.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  The door pushed open. “What would give me an apoplexy?”

  Elizabeth’s heart ceased for a moment before it began pounding anew in her chest. The last person she needed to see or explain anything to was her grandfather. What was he doing up at this hour and why was he walking past her bedchamber?

  “I, um…I have…well, you see…I work in the vineyards with my husband, gathering grapes, stomping them for wine…”

  Danby glared at her. “Enough, Elizabeth. Are you sure you haven’t been on the stage all this time and not in Tuileries?”

  Her mouth fell over in shock. How did he know?

  “And do sit down. Though I am rather impressed how well you are getting around, having been shot not quite two weeks ago.”

  Nicholas turned on her. “You were shot?” He glared over at John. “You never mentioned that bit in your story.”

  John shrugged. He probably thought it best to keep quiet at the moment. She didn’t blame him.

  Danby settled into the chair in front of the fireplace. “Somebody build that up and get the chill out of this room.”

  Nicholas moved to do his bidding.

  “John, sit.” With his cane, Grandfather pointed to one of the chairs at the table by the window before he turned back to Elizabeth. “From the moment you got the crazy idea into your head to be a spy like your uncle, I have been kept abreast of your activities…and health.”

  “How?” John began to ask, but Danby cut him off.

  “That is none of your concern. Elizabeth knows well enough, or should have known, that I know everything, and she was a fool to think she could keep the truth from me.”

  Her grandfather was correct. It was foolish of her to think she could keep this secret.

  “Nobody would ever tell me who Jean Pierre was, though I suspected he was English. I learned enough that such a man worked in the stables before I decided Elizabeth hadn’t made him up, though I highly doubt your family owns a vineyard in the south of France.”

  “If you know all of this, Your Grace,” John interrupted, “why did you send for her? Surely you knew the danger.”

  “I knew my granddaughter could find a way out of there and back. And it was high time she came home.”

  “But why send for me if you knew the truth?”

  “Because I wanted to know who you were.” He glared at John.

  Nicholas stood. “You made them share a chamber last night knowing they were not married?”

  Danby dismissed him. “Why not? They are soon to be married, and we can’t have the entire house wondering why the two are separated.”

  “We aren’t going to be married,” Elizabeth insisted. Either her grandfather had gotten a wild idea in his head or he’d forced the compromise to force the marriage.

  “Oh, yes, you are.” Danby banged his cane on the floor. “You were compromised by that man long before you got to England, and I demand he do the right thing.” He turned a snide look to Nicholas. “It is much better than an uncivilized dawn appointment.”

  “Were you listening at the door?” Nicholas demanded.

  “I will not let you force John into marrying me,” Elizabeth said, ignoring Nicholas.

  “Yes, I was,” Danby answered and turned to Elizabeth. “I wasn’t going to until he admitted to thoroughly compromising you.”

  “It was my choice, and he should not be forced to marry me.”

  “As long as you are my granddaughter, you have no choice.” He banged his cane on the ground once again.

  She turned to John and pleaded, “Please, make him see sense. This would never work.”

  John stood and took both of her hands in his. “He is right.”

  “No, he isn’t.”

  “Elizabeth, do be quiet.” John gently ordered her.

  Affronted she took a step back. How dare he condescend to her.

  John held tight to her hands. “I’ve been contemplating marriage since we were on that first boat. I would have broached it then, but I could tell you were adamant against the idea.”

  “I would lose my freedom.”

  “Are you so sure?” A half smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.

  “Enough!” Danby barked. “Here is what you are going to do. Elizabeth is going to announce that Jean Pierre died over a year ago but she was afraid to tell anyone for fear I would make her come home. She met John in France and begged him to play the part of her husband until after Christmas. John didn’t take into account that he would be known by her cousins, and the truth came out. Nevertheless, he wishes to marry her, which he will do in three weeks after the banns have been read.”

  Though she shouldn’t be, Elizabeth was rather impressed how her grandfather had so simply solved all the identity problems. She just needed to make him understand marriage was not under any consideration.

  He turned on her before she could protest. “You will marry John whether you like it or not, and I suspect you would like to very much.”

  Elizabeth opened her mouth to deny him, but he held up his cane and she sealed her lips.

  “John, be honest, am I forcing you to marry my granddaughter?” There was a twinkle in her grandfather’s eye she had never seen before. He was enjoying himself, but for the life of her she couldn’t understand why.

  Elizabeth looked up and into John’s eyes. No matter what he said, she would know the truth. She knew John well enough by now to know his eyes darkened just slightly when he lied.

  “In truth, it would be my pleasure and honor to make her my bride. I only wish we had a special license so we didn’t have to wait.”

  He meant it. John meant every word he’d just uttered.

  “I have a stack of them, I’m just not going to let you have one,” Grandfather announced.

  John’s eyes narrowed in question toward Grandfather. “Why?”

  “Punishment for anticipating your vows with my granddaughter.” Grandfather actually laughed.

  “But…”

  “Oh Elizabeth, do be quiet,” Danby interrupted. “I know you are worried about your future, and if it were up to me I would lock you up in the house where I know you can’t get into any danger, but it will be up to John what to do with you from now on.”

  John grinned down at her. “We will make it work with Home Office. I promise.”

  “What if they don’t allow it?” Would he hate her if he had to find a
new position, a new career? How soon before the resentment?

  “Elizabeth, all that matters is that you become my wife, and I hope it is because you want to and not because your grandfather is forcing you.”

  Her heart slowly began to melt. He did want to marry her.

  “I love you.”

  Those three simple words, and her heart burst. “Oh, John, I love you, too.” She flung her arms around this neck and hugged him close. She never dreamed he would return her feelings, the very ones she kept trying to push away and ignore.

  Her grandfather cleared his throat and stood. “I am sure the Home Office will keep you both.”

  She dearly hoped he was right, but would she and John be able to work together?

  “And John,” her grandfather continued, “this is not a career one stays with forever. When you are ready to retire and remain in England, you will be taken care of.”

  “Sir?” John straightened.

  “You are not in a position to see to your future, building a business, managing land and such, but you will need something for your family once you’re done doing whatever it is you do. And because you are working to keep England safe, I have seen that you will be taken care of.”

  Elizabeth wasn’t sure what to make of her grandfather’s statement, but she wasn’t going to question it.

  “Now—” her grandfather turned to Nicholas. “You will not ever breathe a word of what transpired in this room.”

  “Of course not, sir.”

  Danby turned to John. “You will come with me. Your quarters have just been moved to the tower.”

  “The tower? Really, grandfather,” Elizabeth protested. The room was small, let in drafts and located at the top of the highest tower, hence its name. She played there as a child, but it was not suited for someone to live in.

  He turned and narrowed his eyes at her. “He will remain there for three weeks until you are wed. That will also leave enough time for his family to travel here.” Danby turned to John. “I assume you have not seen them in some time and would like them at your wedding.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace, but you don’t actually plan on locking me up in there as well, do you?”

  Danby didn’t crack a smile but raised an eyebrow in warning. “If you don’t behave yourself, I just might.” Danby stepped out in the hall, and Nicholas followed, closing the door behind them.