Regency Romance Collection

by Bridget Barton

  “That remains to be seen, Stuart,” Evelyn said, shortly. “Since I can safely assume that you know very well that I am referring to your contriving my meetings with your friend, the Duke of Calgarth, I shall get straight to the point.”

  “Please allow me to say, if you will, that whilst I fully admit to my part in things, I certainly did it with the best of intentions. I truly thought that you would be far better off in the Farrington family than you would ever be with the Cunninghams.”

  “I had rather come to that decision myself, Stuart,” Evelyn said, still not keen to relent and allow her cousin any peace. “But I want it to be on my terms. You see, I do not want to jump from the frying pan into the fire. I want to know exactly what it is I face if I become a part of the Farrington household. Obviously, I am perfectly well aware of Gabriel Farrington’s plan, and that I was nothing more than a pawn in his game.”

  “In truth, you were, Evelyn, and yet still I thought you would be better off,” Stuart said, spreading his hands wide and looking at her in a most beseeching way. “But there is something else you must know, really there is.”

  “And that is?” Evelyn said, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

  “That is that I saw my dear friend Gabriel fall for you almost immediately. Yes, when he had simply seen you from afar, he saw you as a means of damaging the Cunninghams. He admitted as much to me himself. And yet, after that very first meeting at Amelia’s afternoon of tea and bridge, I saw a change in him. I saw his regard for you become something very real.”

  “How nice.” Evelyn said, somewhat sarcastically.

  “I speak the truth, cousin,” Stuart said, with a great sigh. “And I have seen that regard continue to grow, to the point where all he can talk of is how he can rescue you. With my hand on my heart, I tell you that he has not mentioned the idea of damaging the Cunninghams in this respect for some good, long while. Instead, he talks of you, and of everything that you are currently suffering at the hands of Eleonora.”

  “Does he, indeed? And you believe him, do you?” Evelyn said, searching her cousin’s face for any sign that he was lying.

  “I do not have to search for the truth in my dealings with Gabriel. We have been friends since we were at school, and I know when he speaks the truth to me.”

  “Well, I shall speak some truths to you, Stuart.” Evelyn said, some of the fire in her heart dying down just a little. “Eleonora Cunningham has finally perceived the relationship between yourself and Gabriel Farrington, and she has very much demanded that my family break all ties with yours. Of course, my dear parents agreed without question.” Evelyn paused, keen to see if the idea had hurt him at all.

  “As much as I realize they need the money, Evelyn, I could never have imagined your father agreeing to such a thing. Still, I daresay he has weighed it all up and seen our two families are not so terribly close. Perhaps he is simply doing what he thinks must do to protect the Earldom of Gorton.”

  “Oh, please do not excuse him, Stuart. You and I both know that his behavior is reprehensible. Still, I am glad to have finally seen it for myself, because it gives me such resolve. I shall not be used any longer. I shall not be used by the Cunninghams, nor my parents, nor even Gabriel Farrington. Instead, I intend to move the pieces on this chessboard. I intend to marry your friend if that would give him such joy over his enemies.”

  “My dear girl, I truly think that the joy it would give him would have nothing to do with the Cunninghams. I think it would be the joy of being married to you, Evelyn.”

  “Really?” Evelyn said, flatly as she rolled her eyes.

  “Really,” Stuart said and seemed determined to have his say. “But perhaps you will not believe it from me. Perhaps you ought to hear it from the man himself.” And with that, Stuart began to rise to his feet.

  “He is here, isn’t he?” Evelyn said, feeling suddenly venomous. “Once again, you have deceived me, cousin.”

  “I have deceived you for your very own good, Evelyn,” Stuart said, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. “Because after Gabriel told me of the threats that Eleonora Cunningham made, I knew that she and Prudence would carry them out. I do not know how else to help you, and find that my deception was all that I had to fall back upon.”

  “As angry as I am, Stuart, I do see it.” Evelyn said, her eyes closed as she blinked back tears.

  In truth, she did not know whether they were the tears of disappointment at having been deceived once more, or if it was simply all her circumstances laying heavy upon her shoulders, threatening to drive her deep into the earth.

  “Then I shall call for him.” Stuart said and bent down to lightly kiss her cheek before he turned to leave the room.

  Chapter 10

  As Gabriel Farrington walked into the room, Evelyn looked up sharply at him. The moment she set eyes upon him, she was reminded just how attracted to him she was. Not only was he the only man she had found so appealing in all her three and twenty years, but he was the only one who had ever shown an interest in her opinion. If only she could find out if that interest had been real, or simply another part of his plan.

  “I am sorry to have come upon you this way once more, Evelyn.” Gabriel said, as he strode into the room and made his way to the couch to sit beside her.

  “I realize now that you and I have never met but your plans made it so. At Amelia’s, here at Harbury Hall, Tangletree Wood, and now here again. Everything just as you desire it, Gabriel Farrington.”

  “And you have every right to your anger, Evelyn, truly you do.” Gabriel said, and reached out to take her hand.

  For a moment, Evelyn could not speak. Richard Cunningham had taken her hand before, and it had felt as nothing more than an irritation to her. And yet, her hand in Gabriel Farrington’s could not have felt more different. His hands were large and dry, with smooth skin. Richard Cunningham’s had been small and rather damp, and far from pleasurable to feel against her own. And Gabriel gripped her hand firmly but not too tightly. There was something about that grip that spoke deeply to her of true masculinity. Not the angry masculinity of warring families and men with something to prove, but rather the silent essence of true manliness.

  “I shall, perhaps, make this easy for you, Gabriel. I will marry you.” Evelyn said, without a hint of joy in her voice. “And I shall be honest with you from the very beginning, in stark contrast to your behavior towards me.”

  “But Evelyn…”

  “I shall marry you to save myself, Gabriel. I shall marry you to save myself from a lifetime’s imprisonment inside the walls of Horndean Hall with all the hideous characters who dwell there. I do not know if your regard for me is real or simply another part of the plan. I do not know if your interest in my opinions, nor your seeming desire to discover more about my personality, is real either. And yet, I shall not let that worry me. I shall take life and deal with it in the same manner that you and Richard Cunningham do. I shall look out for my own best interests, regardless of the fortunes of my family and the feelings of either you or Richard. The only difference is, that I shall be entirely honest about it.”

  “Evelyn, my dear woman, that is awfully hard.” Gabriel said, seeming every bit hurt by her words.

  Evelyn could see the hurt in his eyes and did not know whether to laugh or cry. How truly wonderful it would have been to have met him in ordinary circumstances and for the two of them to have simply fallen in love. Of course, that was never to be. Evelyn would simply marry him, never once knowing if his regard for her was ever real.

  “As much as I appreciate your honesty, Evelyn, I do not welcome it,” Gabriel said, looking down for the first time, despite maintaining his grip on her hand. “For you see, I have tried on two occasions now to be honest with you, and you will not hear me out. You would rather see me as the villain, and I do not deny that that is how I started off in all of this.” Gabriel turned his attention upon her again, his blue-grey eyes fixed firmly to hers.

  “I did list
en… I….”

  “You did not, Evelyn. I tried to tell you of my feelings in the woods, and you would not have it. I am trying to tell you of them again now, and seemingly you still will not have it. But I will tell you, Evelyn, and you can see if you still wish to marry me at the end of it.”

  Evelyn tried to look away, unable to bear the intensity of his gaze any longer. However, as she did so, Gabriel took her chin in his free hand and turned her head to face him. Her heart suddenly began to thunder along, and she knew she had never felt so much for a man in all her life.

  “It is true that all of this began in my mind as a means of taking the upper hand in a long-running feud. But that was before I came to know you, Evelyn. That was before we had even spoken. I know that my initial intent was far from honest, and even further from being right. But I knew, believe me, from that very first afternoon in Amelia Merriweather’s drawing-room, that you were somebody very special. I knew, without any doubts, that you were the most engaging, intelligent, and interesting young lady of my acquaintance. The only one I had met in my thirty years.” He paused for a moment, moving his hand from her chin to the side of her face. As he stroked her cheek gently, he went on. “And on our second afternoon, right here in this drawing-room, it was all I could do to stop myself falling to my knees and begging you to marry me there and then. From that moment, any idea of revenge upon the Cunninghams was the very furthest thing from my mind. All I have been able to think about is you, Evelyn, and I wish I could make you see the truth of it. When I met you in the woods and discovered the cruel threats that had been made against you, I felt my part in your misfortune most keenly. Please forgive me for the way I have behaved, and please at least think about everything I have said to you, for it is the whole truth.”

  “I had come here today fully intent upon being as cruel as I perceive everybody else to have been. And yet, listening to you now, I know I cannot do it. I could not marry for anything other than love, and I truly believe that you are the only man I shall ever have such feelings for. What has held me back and made me so angry is the very idea that you do not feel for me what I feel for you.”

  “But I do feel it, Evelyn. I do not want to marry on such angry terms, I want to marry you because you love me as much as I love you. That is all I want.”

  “And that is all I want.” Evelyn said, and instinctively she reached him.

  As she reached for him, Gabriel pulled her firmly into his arms and began to kiss her passionately. Evelyn had never been kissed before, and could hardly believe how his lips on hers made her entire body feel alive with desire.

  As they continued to kiss, Gabriel began to ran his hands along the soft curves of her body, and she heard herself moan with pleasure. Gently, Gabriel pushed her backward on the couch, until she was beneath him.

  Feeling his body hard and taught against her, Evelyn experienced a deep longing that she had never known herself capable of. She wanted him more than anything in the world, and she wanted him there and then. Hardly knowing what she was doing, Evelyn pushed the fabric of his tailcoat, easing it down his shoulders until he came free of it and it hit the floor. In no time at all, she had his waistcoat unbuttoned and removed. As she pulled at the fastenings of his shirt, exposing his muscular, smooth chest, she felt the moan escaped from him. She looked into his eyes and saw there what she had hoped to see all along. Gabriel Farrington wanted her for herself and herself alone. All his thoughts of vengeance had been pushed away, and all he could see was her.

  He was panting hard, and Evelyn knew they did not have much time. However, something deep inside her ached for him, and she knew she could not leave that drawing-room until they had become as one person.

  Suddenly, Gabriel rose from the couch and pulled her up to standing. He hastily undid the fastenings of her gown and lifted it clean over her head in no time at all. In between kisses, his fingers urgently worked at the fastenings of her undergarments, rendering her entirely naked before him.

  Gabriel ran his hands up and down her body, stopping at her breasts. Evelyn moaned loudly and wanted him more urgently than ever. Hurriedly she pulled at his shirt, throwing it to the floor with the rest of his garments. Gabriel quickly removed his own boots and trousers and, for a moment, they simply stood naked before each other, their hearts pounding in their eyes full of longing.

  Gabriel took her into his arms, pressing his body hard into hers before finally, he laid her down on the great fireside rug.

  Evelyn had always imagined being terrified at this moment, and yet there was no fear to be found. Gabriel Farrington would be hers, and she would be his, in every way.

  By the time they had dressed and composed themselves, there was still no sign of Stuart Penhaligon. He had undoubtedly decided to leave the pair alone until they had resolved their differences, and Evelyn found herself suddenly inordinately pleased at her cousin’s interference in her life. If Stuart had not done such a thing, she would not have just made love with Gabriel Farrington; the only man she would ever love.

  “I hear carriage wheels.” Gabriel said, suddenly.

  “I hear nothing.” Evelyn said, shaking her head and shrugging.

  “Listen.”

  Finally, Evelyn heard the faint rumble in the distance. She hastened to one of the large drawing room windows and gasped when she saw the carriage that the Duchess of Horndean routinely used rolling towards them.

  “Oh my God!” Evelyn said, desperately. “I think it’s the Duchess of Horndean. She probably has Eleonora with her. They have found me out somehow.”

  “Perhaps they had called upon your parents’ home and wondered at your absence.” Gabriel said, shrugging.

  “It matters not, they have found me out and they will ruin me.”

  “How can they ruin you now, my dear?” Gabriel said, reaching out to take her hands. “You are mine now. We shall be married and there is nothing they can do to you.”

  “If they find me here with you, there is much they can do to ruin my family. They shall suffer enough at my breaking of the engagement without that.”

  “Then let us not give them the opportunity.” Gabriel said, smiling down at her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Let us go now. Let us run to the stables, climb up on our horses and run.”

  “Run where?” Evelyn said, helplessly. “If they realize we have been here, and we are unmarried, it is over.”

  “When I say run, Evelyn, I mean elope. Let us go today, this minute, and find someone who will marry us. Even if we have to cross the border into Scotland, let us do it. Let us do it now before that carriage draws any closer.”

  “Should we really?” Evelyn said, her heart beating hard once more and her breath coming in shallow gasps.

  “I love you, Evelyn. I want you to marry me, and I want you to marry me today. Let us not wait, and let us not give them chance to create a scandal.”

  “But there will be a scandal, Gabriel.”

  “But we shall be husband and wife already, and any scandal shall be slight in comparison.” He grasped her hand firmly and began to pull her towards the door. “What do you say?”

  “I say yes, my darling Gabriel, I say yes.”

  Epilogue

  Evelyn was surprised to find how readily the Farrington family had accepted her into their home, especially after the way she had become married to the Duke. However, Evelyn rather wondered if Gabriel’s four brothers weren’t simply pleased by the idea that she had helped them deliver a rather crushing blow to the Cunningham family. And yet, now that she had all that she wanted, Evelyn found herself caring very little, and did nothing to put them straight on the matter.

  Of course, when they had returned from Scotland as man and wife, there was a flurry of scandal across the two Duchies. In truth, however, Gabriel had been right. The scandal had been short lived, and they had very much thwarted any ideas the Cunningham women had of heaping shame upon Evelyn. After all, their plan had been to create such a scandal as
no man would want her, but since she was already married to the Duke of Calgarth, their plan had come to naught.

  Daphne Farrington, the Dowager Duchess, had been most welcoming of all. She had seen the love that her eldest son had for the beautiful young Evelyn, and was simply pleased that their marriage had been forged from such a love, rather than Gabriel’s desire to destroy the Cunninghams.

  And yet, as she watched the two of them walking hand-in-hand through the grounds of the Calgarth estate, Daphne Farrington knew that the marriage could mean only one thing. The deepening of the dreadful feud and the awful idea that there seemed to be no end in sight. All that remained was for a concerned mother to worry what this would mean for the future of her family.

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