Wellchester Triplets Series: A Historical Regency Romance Box Set

by Laura Locke

  “You are an honest and direct man, Lord Cunningham,” Ira responded. “I believe I speak for her mother as well as myself when I say that these qualities are admirable and her mother and I would support your offer of marriage to her daughter, provided that she is of a like mind.”

  “Thank you, sir. And I would like to thank you as well, Richard, for I realize this means you will lose one of your siblings and I can only imagine how close the three of you are to one another. May I assure you both that I will take excellent care of Johanna and our family if there is to be one in the future.”

  The men left the kitchen, and while Ira took Sylvia into the garden to relay what had transpired, William requested that Johanna walk with him down the lane, with Melody as their chaperone.

  “Johanna, it cannot come as too big of a surprise for you to understand how I feel about you. I have asked your father formally for your hand in marriage, and he has granted my wish as long as you are like-minded. Therefore, it would be my utmost pleasure and desire, if you, Johanna, would become my wife?”

  Johanna blushed furiously and nodded, reaching out to take William’s hand.

  “Before you give me your answer, however, Johanna, I want you to understand that while I have inherited my title, it does not entail a great financial inheritance. While we will be quite comfortable, especially with my military pension, it is my desire to reinvest these funds and to purchase a ship and set up a trading company. As husband and wife, we would travel aboard the ship to the many lands you and I have talked about. I have promised your father that if and when the day should come that we begin a family, that I would ask you to choose one place to live and there we would settle permanently. You may choose that to be Britain, or perhaps the Americas, or perhaps somewhere else. That would be your choice. Now, understanding that, do you still wish to be my wife?”

  “Oh, yes, most assuredly. Melody? Did you hear what was said?”

  Melody laughed. “Of course, you ninny, how could I not? Regardless, I believe I told you I saw something such as this in your future — that it would suit you well. I’m very pleased for the both of you, and now if we can return to the cottage, I can begin my own search for a suitor.”

  The others laughed and held hands as they returned to the cottage.

  Chapter 18

  The wedding was set for one fortnight henceforth. Melody would serve as her sister’s maid of honor while Richard would serve as best man for William. Due to the uncertain times, Ira requested that they keep the guest list to twenty or fewer. At the top was naturally, Aunt Margaret.

  Sylvia immediately went into a flurry of activity, making the bridal gown, the maid of honor gown and special shirts for the gentlemen. Melody and Johanna drew up the menu for the wedding dinner and began the early preparations. William found lodging in the village, coincidentally at Aunt Margaret’s cottage. There she regaled him nightly with her matchmaking success stories and gently let him know that she would have her eye on him should he ever mistreat Johanna. It was not that she expected such, but more that she was expected to deliver such a warning.

  Johanna wanted badly to have their ceremony outside Shepherd’s Nest, but understood that some guests, such as Aunt Margaret, would not be able to navigate the trail. She settled instead, for her family’s garden and Ira made it his business to trim and clean up every square inch. Johanna was extremely excited, particularly with the fact that she was about to realize her dream of travel. Until the couple made the arrangements necessary to purchase their ship, they would abide in a small house that Aunt Margaret would rent to them. Thus, everyone who was family and who was considered family, was contributing and participating.

  William felt a great pride in having Johanna become his wife. He knew that she was young and inexperienced and he would take great care with her. He traveled to London in the interim, and relinquished his position in the Army directly to his Majesty. The King professed great regret at the loss of one of his finest soldiers, however, congratulated William and his wife to be, and wished them a happy future. His gift to them was a letter of safe passage. This letter guaranteed that should their ship ever be approached by an unfriendly, or even British ship, they would be granted safe passage for the King’s word and his Navy stood at William’s back. Out of gratitude for his service, the King also granted William’s title a stipend that would allow he and Johanna to live quite comfortably, should they remain in England. Therein lay the catch. He could not make it permanent residence anywhere else but England or one of her colonies around the world. This, naturally did not include America as they had declared their independence. This was not a choice to be made lightly, nor was it one that had to be made immediately. He and Johanna would travel widely before selecting a permanent place of residence.

  On the evening before their wedding, Johanna walked the path down to Shepherd’s Nest or what could very well be the last time, certainly as a single maiden. She sat on a stump and remembered seeing William for the first time, still in a deathlike heap on the ground. And she remembered again when she had seen him bathing in the creek and the way his muscles had made a waterfall. She was a bit nervous about their wedding night. Although Sylvia had gone to some length to explain what she could expect, she was however, a maiden, and although she had witnessed animals procreating, it was much more difficult to imagine herself in that position.

  The next morning dawned with the gray mist. The wedding festivities were scheduled to begin at midday. Johanna and her family prayed that the sun would come through to make the occasion all the more special. Johanna and William were indeed blessed, and shortly before midday, the mist lifted and a warm glow sunbathed the green earth below. At the appointed time, Johanna, William, family and guests gathered in the garden before the Rev. Tillman. It was a picturesque setting, and there was barely a dry eye in evidence at the ceremony’s conclusion.

  The food was brought from the kitchen, and the banquet began. For this, Ira had opened his purse and the guests were treated to a meal fit for a king. There were platters of beef, pork and lamb, surrounded by bowls of tiny new potatoes, and a variety of vegetables. Loaves of fresh bread and delicate salads decorated the expanse of white linen on the table.

  The guests were about to begin eating when there was a great commotion coming from the lane that led to the cottage. A contingent of soldiers in uniform appeared, causing alarm throughout the guests. The soldiers dismounted and stood to one side, as one individual strode between them to stand before William, his hand extended. It was the King who, on his way north to review his troops, had heard of William’s wedding and stopped to pay his respects. Not a single citizen of Tymington had ever beheld the King and the word spread quickly. Ira was flabbergasted and far more impressed with his new son-in-law. The King even took time to admire Sylvia’s gowns and he requested that she visit court in the near future so that the ladies there might patronize her skills.

  The King left amidst a crowd of well-wishers just as the musicians arrived and candles, suspended from the tree limbs in glass jars were lit to create a grassy dance floor.

  As the night grew late, William took his bride by the hand and together they walked into the village and entered the cottage they were renting from Aunt Margaret. There he took her to their room and closing the door, turned her to face him. He bent to kiss her softly on the lips, his kisses becoming more ardent as their passion grew. That night Johanna became a woman and her husband became perhaps the proudest man in England.

  Chapter 19

  William and Johanna’s wedding became all the rage in the parlors and drawing rooms across the country. The King, having deigned to surprise them, was an unheard-of event. He garnered a great deal of good will from his people by having done so. Every detail, from Johanna’s gown to what was served at the banquet supplied the gossip mills months to come. Sylvia’s business quadrupled overnight as every mother wanted her daughter to wear a gown such as Johanna’s.

  William and Johanna revisited Shepa
rd’s Nest. It had become an inspiration one night when they were at home alone, recounting the memory of their initial meeting. Bypassing Wellchester cottage, they picked their way through the woods to the tiny hut, having brought with them blankets, a bottle of wine and a loaf of bread. There, as William lay with his bride, and as she ran her hand over the rough remains of his scar, she remembered her pledge to follow him as he traveled the world.

  “When will we be ready to begin your trading venture, William?” she asked him.

  “I have been scouting ships and finishing the details with the King. He had grown to place great trust in me, and it is with some level of regret that I deserted him. However, you and I have planned this, and we shall follow through on it. What would you say to our first destination being America?”

  “I should like that very much!” Johanna exclaimed. “I was hoping you might settle on that. Where would we make port?”

  “That, dear Johanna, would depend on who has hired us to transport their goods. There are many ports along the Atlantic coast and my goal is to find one or two clients who consistently ship goods back and forth so that our route is regular and the crew well-paid. Have you given thought to whether you wish to accompany me on every voyage?”

  “I should be very lonely without you. After all, I know no one there.”

  “You make a very good point, dear wife. I had thought to make the first few voyages myself, and if successful, I would hire a captain in my stead and operate the business from America. What would you think of that?”

  “May we return from time to time so that I may see my family again?”

  “Of course. Perhaps they may wish to visit you, as well. We can provide passage and they will naturally be our guests. You never know where that might lead, especially in the face of the unrest for England is currently experiencing. France is a wily opponent, and Bonaparte a stubborn man.

  “I have never asked you, husband. Where do you stand on the politics in all of this?”

  William gave her a surprised look. “I stand with the king, of course.”

  Johanna took a deep breath and asked the question she had been deliberating herself. “Should we one day decide to remain in America, would we become Americans and therefore give up our loyalty to the King?”

  “I do not see that happening, however the world is quickly changing. We shall make our decisions if and when that time arises.”

  Aunt Margaret had found a match for Melody. However, Melody wanted a prolonged engagement as she was quite nervous at the prospect of becoming a wife. Having borne the recent expense of Johanna’s wedding, Ira was only too happy to agree. He was also busy training Richard more advance techniques of working with iron in an ornamental sense. He had enclosed the front of their farm with a decorative fencing and it had become all the rage. Thus, Ira had more business than he could handle alone, and he enlisted Richard’s talent and assigned him the fencing portion of the business.

  The day finally came when William announced that he had found what he believed to be the ship they would buy. He packed up Johanna in the carriage he had purchased for her and the two of them set off for Dover where they could inspect the ship more closely.

  Thus began Johanna’s travels of the world. The ship, a three-masted schooner, was exactly as William had expected and he quickly signed the papers. They returned once more to Tymington to gather their personal belongings and for Johanna say goodbye to her family. It was a bittersweet moment as it marked the first time that the triplets would be separated in their lives. They all knew that time and, eventually, but they had never suspected that one of them might travel the oceans.

  They gathered once more at the trestle table in the kitchen where Sylvia lay a wonderful holiday dinner. It was the eve of Christmas and she had baked pies and pastries galore. The family had an early exchange of gifts. Johanna had engaged the services of a silversmith in Dover. She now gave Melody and Richard a small package each. Inside they discovered a silver chain which held a flat, wrought silver pendant. Johanna had one as well and when the three were held together, they formed a perfect heart.

  “Each of us will wear our piece about our necks, and although we will be miles apart, our hearts will always be as one.” All three of the siblings were in tears when Johanna hugged her family goodbye. On the way through the village, Johanna stopped long enough to hug Aunt Margaret, as the old woman was like a grandmother to her.

  “I command you to take good care of my girl,” Aunt Margaret told William. “She has trusted me, and I will never let her down. I believe you are the man who was meant for her. In fact, I stake my matchmaking of the lifetime of that fact. You will write, will you not?”

  “Yes, Aunt Margaret, I will write and often, and you must write me in return.” Johanna hugged her one last time, knowing she would likely never see Aunt Margaret again.

  As she and William climbed into the carriage, Johanna watched through the rear window, the village that had been her world, dropping away into the light snow that fell upon them.

  Epilogue

  William and Johanna would board their ship that next day, and set sail for Boston in the Americas. Their journey was rugged, as the North Atlantic was capable of summoning up great storms without notice. Most of their journey, Johanna spent huddled in their master cabin, battling the waves that echoed in her stomach. Never once, did she regret having made this decision.

  William held her through the nights as the ship rose and fell over the massive waves. He saw to it that she was never alone and had hired a lady’s maid to keep her company when he could not be on hand. As Captain, he saw to it that the cargo remained tightly lashed, keeping the ship stable.

  The sea had calmed, and Johanna was taking air on the deck when land was first sighted. It was a placid day for early March, something that Johanna considered a very good sign. As they made their way into Boston Harbor, the sights and sounds of the new world surrounded her. Johanna’s head spun as she looked with curiosity at everything in her view. William stood behind her, his legs spread in a seafarer’s stance and his hands upon her shoulders to steady her. They had made their first crossing successfully and were most encouraged.

  Despite the rough journey, Johanna would not be deterred from making several more with her new husband. He had purchased a smart brownstone in Boston where they lived, while in America. Johanna began attending a Protestant church and there she made friends with the provincial women, many of whom had husbands who were seafarers as well. She built a life for herself, and when William traveled without her, although she missed him, she found a way to be content. She learned to cook American dishes and discovered the richness that spices from all over the world could add to the otherwise rather bland English cooking. When William was at home, they entertained frequently.

  Johanna befriended a woman named Patricia who had two children. Johanna and Patricia often took the children to the park nearby and watched them play in the sunshine as they talked about their own girlhoods in England. Although they had grown up with different backgrounds, there was always much in common, as they discovered. Johanna watched Patricia’s children play and could not help but think of the possibility that she and William would one day have children. She did not broach the subject, not yet. William was still building his company and he had earned an excellent reputation on both sides of the sea.

  William had recently added a new ship, and this one would sail for the islands far to the south. Many of the spices, cotton, sugar, and plants that could be purchased. They were in great demand elsewhere in the world. He and Johanna made the maiden journey there and she was thrilled to meet yet another peoples whose backgrounds were very different from her own.

  Johanna had indeed fulfilled her dreams from girlhood. She was married to a dashing, successful businessman, had many friends surrounding her in the Americas, and a wonderful, warm family waiting for her in England. Johanna would visit them again, and she would forever remain a woman whose heart lay on opposing
shores.

  **THE END**

  Untamed Farrier

  Chapter 1

  Northumberland, England

  Late summer in the English countryside boasted white garden gates covered by the amethyst-tinted clematis and the frequent appearance of a linen-decked table set beneath limbs heavy with leaves that cast a cooling shade. Glasses of lemonade for the ladies and mugs of lager kept cool in root cellars presided at the gentry teas.

  The townspeople of Tymington yearned for the autumn’s cool. It promised not only relief from the unrelenting heat, but the summer’s harvest of grapes, grains and baskets of apples. The skies would no longer bode dark, horrific storms that could flatten the crop, but the confrontational reigns between summer and winter.

  Richard Wellchester reclined in the blackened wood chair in the back corner of his father’s farrier barn. The day had grown hotter as the sun rose. He’d already tidied and restocked the barn to the extent that one may do in such a profession. The sultry drips from his forehead were now also sporadic and bored in nature.

  “Richard! Why sit you there?” Ira hailed from the doorway. He was equally hot, which only served to put him in a black mood. While Ira regarded Richard as being himself in his youth again, Richard was considered quite the catch locally with his coppery hair and topaz-colored eyes that glowed with good health. He was taller than average, and the blacksmithing labor had molded his physique into a broad-chested, hard machine with muscles that strained the sleeves of his shirts.