by Quinn, Ella
She smiled and nodded. “Never more so.”
“Your Grace.” Her butler bowed.
“My love”—her smile broadened as she looked at him—“I’d like to you meet Corbet, our butler. Corbet, Lord Quartus Trevor, soon to be my husband.”
“My lord, it is the staff’s pleasure to welcome you home.”
“Thank you, Corbet. I am pleased to be here.”
The butler continued, “This is Mrs. Pennymore, our housekeeper.”
“Mrs. Pennymore, my pleasure. I am quite sure the children will call you Penny.”
“And that’s fine with me, my lord. This house needs children running around it, if I may say so.”
“Indeed you may.” He glanced at Anna and found her eyes sparkling.
His time as a rector proved to be of aid as he met the other servants. Out of long habit, he remembered their names and bits of information about each one of the maids and footmen. Finally they reached the end where Tatiana was waiting with her ladyship and the duchess on the steps.
To his utter surprise, she smiled at them both, but addressed Anna. “I understand why you did not choose to tell me of your feelings for Lord Quartus. Lady Featherton and the duchess explained the matter to me.” She turned to him. “I misjudged you, my lord. Please forgive me.”
“There is nothing to forgive. You only knew my father. Many think the apple does not fall far from the tree.”
“Thank you. My old friends have also related to me some of the actions of the duke with regard to his sons. Be assured that if he tries any of his tricks here, he will not succeed.”
“Thank you.” He felt as if a pile of stones had fallen from his shoulders. “Lady Tatiana.”
“You may as well call me Aunt Tatiana.” She smiled at him for the first time and he returned it with one of his own. “Anna, I do not believe you have met her ladyship and her grace. This is Lady Featherton, and the Duchess of Bridgewater.”
Anna held out her hands. “I have heard so much about both of you that I feel as if I know you already. Thank you for coming and bringing my aunt. The wedding will be in five days. Will you be able to stay?”
“Oh yes, my dear,” Lady Featherton replied. “We would not miss it for anything.”
While they had been speaking, the servants had resumed their duties and their friends joined them on the stairs.
Taking his hand, Anna called out. “Please come in. Tea will no doubt arrive shortly. It will be a few minutes before your rooms are ready.” She motioned to Corbet. “There are three young children with us and more to arrive in the next day or two.”
“Pennymore has already sent maids to the nursery, Your Grace.”
Quartus couldn’t wait until his and Anna’s children filled the nursery, the house, and their lives. Waiting to make love to her was going to be the death of him.
Soon after Anna, Quartus, and their friends arrived, it seemed as if the castle had turned into a mad house. Rooms were turned out, already clean floors, chandeliers, and banisters were so highly polished she felt as if she was in a house full of mirrors. Quartus did his best to help, but Anna ended up telling him to keep the men out of everyone’s way. The benefit of that was the amount of fresh fish the gentlemen caught.
Two days before the wedding, Viscount and Viscountess Wivenly along with Lord and Lady Stanstead, two couples she had met in Town arrived, as well as Meg’s mother, father, and her brother, Kit and his wife, Mary. Aunt Tatiana remarked that the castle had not been this full in decades. Still, there was plenty of room which turned out to be fortunate.
“Anna.” Quartus came striding into her parlor.
They had hardly had a moment together and she missed him, but he seemed agitated for some reason. “What is it?”
“My mother and the younger children are here. She apologized, but said she could not stay away. She missed Frank’s wedding and she would not miss mine.”
“How did she find out about us?”
“The Duchess of Bridgewater and she correspond.”
Anna could sympathize with Quartus’s mother. She would likely feel the same. Yet if the duchess and his brothers and sisters knew did that mean . . . “The duke?”
“No.” He let out a breath. “Catherine would never tell him. But he will undoubtedly have discovered that we are getting married. The only questions are what he will do and how long will it take for him to set his schemes in place.”
She had heard of the horrible things the duke had done—from abduction to attempted compromise—to Meg, Hawksworth, and Quartus’s other brother and his wife.
Anna tried to think of ways to keep the duke and his thugs away from her and Quartus. Naturally, they would ensure all the windows and doors were locked at night, but what in Heaven’s name had induced the previous duchesses to fill in the moat and remove the portcullis?
Something had to be done to make them safe, but she had no idea what. “Make any arrangements you think necessary.”
“I shall.” He pulled her up, pressing his lips to hers he encouraged her to open to him. Their tongues danced and explored, and caressed with a desperation she had not known before. “Don’t worry.” He rubbed her back, obviously trying to soothe her. “No one is going to stop us from marrying. Meet me in my study an hour before we are to gather in the drawing room. I’ll have a plan in place by then.”
That was in only two hours. She prayed he was right. Surely neither God nor Fate could be so cruel as to rip them apart now that they had found each other. Breathing in and out slowly, she tried to calm her fears. By tomorrow at this time she and her beloved would have said their vows, and there was nothing the duke would be able to do to stop them.
At the appointed time, she entered the study she had offered Quartus as his own sanctuary. Hawksworth, Meg, the Eveshams, Huntleys, and Rutherford’s were just settling in with glasses of sherry. Quartus handed a goblet to her, and she noted new lines seemed to have formed on his handsome countenance. He sat behind his desk, and she took her place in the chair he’d placed next to his.
“Anna and I have a potential problem. My father knows we shall marry. I am not sure he is aware of the date or time, but there is every possibility that he will attempt to stop the wedding.” He motioned toward his brother. “Hawksworth suggested we inform you in addition to the security we have already arranged.”
She appreciated the way Quartus included her even if she was ignorant about what he had done or what she could do. “You might want to tell them of the plans you have set in place.”
He smiled at her. “The footmen, grooms, and gardeners are patrolling and will continue to patrol the inside of the house and the grounds on varying schedules. The idea is to make it difficult for an intruder to figure out when the guards change.” He took a sip of sherry. “All the servants have been told to immediately notify their superiors if they see anyone they do not know or who would not normally be at the castle. I would not put it past my father to try to hire locals. People who would not normally be suspect.” Quartus looked at their guests. “Does anyone have any other suggestions?”
“I assume the guards are armed.” Phoebe Evesham said. “What have you put in place to guard the coaches for tomorrow and on the way to the church?”
“The younger grooms are sleeping on top and under the carriages, not just Anna’s, but the others as well.”
“Marcus and I will loan you our servants as well, if you have the need.”
The lines that had formed in Quartus’s face began to ease. “Thank you. That will help.”
The others offered their servants as well, assuring him and Anna that they would be armed.
“I have a question.” Meg focused on both of them. “Where will you put anyone you capture?”
“The dungeon.” Quartus grinned.
“We have dungeons?” Anna had never considered the matter before, but the castle was certainly old enough. “I had no idea.”
“I’ve even had them swept out,” He added. “W
e may tour them if you’d like.”
“No thank you.” She shuddered. “Whenever I think of dungeons, I think of mice and other unsavory creatures.”
“I also notified the magistrate. He was not best pleased to hear there could be a problem.”
“Surely he does not blame you?” If that was the case, she would have a talk with the man.
“No, Sir William is upset that anyone would interfere with the nuptials of their duchess.”
That was more like it. “I think we should tell the archbishop.”
Raising a brow, Quartus said, “That is a very good idea. Especially if the duke tries to disrupt the service.”
“What are the plans for the ride to church,” Hawksworth asked.
“Outriders. Armed, of course. Do you have any other ideas?”
He leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees. “I assume it is common knowledge that the ceremony will take place at ten o’clock.” Anna nodded. “I suggest that a small party of us, including you and Anna arrive at least an hour early. During our explorations, Quartus and I discovered a secondary road from the castle to the town. We could use that.”
They spent the next few minutes adding to Quartus’s plan, before joining the other guests in the drawing room.
Anna sent up another prayer, thanking the deity for her almost husband’s keen intellect and decisiveness, and for their friends and family. This would all work out. It had to.
Chapter 12
Sometime after the house had quieted, and Quartus had lulled himself into thinking his father would leave he and Anna alone, he was awakened by a knock on his door.
“My lord.” The sharp, urgent voice of the butler came to him.
“Enter.” There was a reason he’d left his breeches on.
He was pulling on a shirt when the door opened.
“Three scoundrels attacked the house, my lord, and one attempted to sabotage her grace’s coach. We caught two of the thugs attempting to enter the house and the one in the stables.” Corbett sniffed. “Unfortunately, the fourth got away. The malfeasors are in the dungeons.”
Three out of four was a damn good job for servants that had never done this kind of thing before.
“Excellent work. Give my compliments to those who detained the culprits.” Quartus pulled on his stockings and shoes. “Have Lord Hawksworth meet me in the dungeons.”
“Yes, my lord. Will there be anything else?”
“I’ll need candles, five mugs, and a pitcher of ale.”
“As you wish, my lord.” The butler bowed before hurrying off.
Quartus was standing in what was probably a guard’s room at one time when Hawksworth arrived.
He raised a brow. “I was told they got three. It appears that our father does not intend to lose you.”
“The duke has already lost me. It doesn’t matter if he meant to abduct me or harm Anna. I’m done with him.” Quartus took the keys down from a hook embedded into the stone wall. “I thought you might like to help me interrogate our prisoners.”
“Gladly.” His brother gave a humorless smile. “Lead on.”
They found two guards outside the cells. “Are you and Charlie the ones who captured these thugs?”
“No, my lord,” the older of the two, George, answered. “That were Howard, Ben, Luke, and Billy. Howard and Luke are back on guard, and Luke and Billy are in the kitchen getting plaster put on their faces.” He motioned with his chin to the heavy wood plank door in front of him. “That one got knocked out, but I heered him moving just now.”
“Do any of them appear to be the leader?”
“Aye, the one in that cell.” He pointed to the right.
Quartus glanced through the barred window into the small room. The man was laying on a pallet facing the back wall. “Bring him to me.”
He and his brother returned to the guardroom and a few minutes later George entered, carrying a coaching pistol pointed at the leader. Quartus was not surprised to see the thug’s hands bound and his feet hobbled by a rope. “Put him in this chair.”
None too gently George pushed the prisoner into the chair. “Do you want me to stay with you, my lord?”
Quartus placed his pistol on the table in front of him. His brother did the same. “No, thank you.”
The thug eyed the weapons. “What ye goin’ ta do?”
Raising his brow, he responded in a bored drawl. “That depends on you, Mr.?
The scoundrel sifted in his chair. “Wheery. That’s all ye need to know.”
“Is it indeed? In that case, you will be bound over to the magistrate for hanging. They do not take well to having their duchess threatened.”
“Dook won’t let ‘em.”
“My father, the duke will have nothing to say about it. I, on the other hand, could help you continue to live.”
“Ye’d let me go?”
“I would have you transported.” Quartus shrugged. “At least you’d be alive.”
The man clapped his lips together. “I got nothin to say.”
“In that case, you may return to your accommodations, such as they are.”
Wheery’s mouth dropped open. “Ye mean ye’re quittn’ just like that?”
“I am tired and have a wedding to attend in—he took out his pocket watch—four hours. I have neither the time nor inclination to play games with someone who would rather hang than save his own life.” Quartus rose. “I bid you a good night. I am sure one of your friends will see the value of confiding in me. My father does not keep tools who fail him.”
The man’s eyes widened even more, and a look of panic replaced incredulity. “Wait! I’ll talk.”
Hawksworth slid Quartus a look. “Well played.”
Less than an hour later, they had confessions from all three prisoners. “Their stories almost match.” Quartus ran his hands through this hair. It would be getting light soon. “What do you think?”
“They’re telling the truth. No two people tell the same story the same way. The question is what will you do about the planned attack on the coaches?”
“I would love to see one of the duke’s scoundrels get cracked in the head with the Duchess’s of Bridgewater’s cane, but the safer course is to have everyone take the back road. It’s not as good, but it will be safer. We have enough grooms and outriders to protect the coaches.” He covered his mouth as he yawned. “I’ll send a runner to the magistrate. Once everyone has arrived at the church, he can take the servants to capture the other criminals.”
“Go to bed. You’ll need all your strength in a few hours.”
“You get some sleep as well. We must be prepared for anything.”
“You’re learning fast, little brother.”
Quartus punched Hawksworth in the arm. “Not so little anymore.”
He made his way to his chamber, glad that Anna’s rest was not disturbed. Before he slept, he’d write a note telling her what happened. He’d love to be able to gloat over tonight’s success, but it wasn’t over yet.
Anna woke the next morning and stretched. Sounds came from the dressing room, and she sat up, pulled back the curtains, and looked out to find her maid laying out her best gown as well as various other garments. “Tea please. I think I shall break my fast here.”
Handing her a missive her maid said. “I’ll send down to the kitchens. Eggs, toast, and tea?” She nodded. “Your bath will be up soon.”
“What is this?”
“From Lord Quartus, Your Grace.”
She popped open the plain wax seal. Was there a crest or ring the duchesses’ husbands wore? She’d have to ask her aunt.
* * *
My darling Anna,
We had some trouble last night caused, as you might have supposed, by Somerset. Hawksworth and I, as well as several of our servants took care of it, and managed to discover further plans the duke made to stop or delay our wedding.
There is an attack planned on the main road to the Town. I have taken it upon myself to order al
l the coaches to depart one half hour early and take the lesser used back road. I have also notified the magistrate of the attack on our house and the one planned for the road.
I pray you slept well, as that was my intent.
With much love always,
Quartus
* * *
A thrill of joy ran though her. He had taken care of all of it and thought to inform her. All without them even discussing what the procedure would be. She could not have asked for a better husband or partner.
Just over an hour later, she was dressed. Tatiana had suggested she wear the Wharton sapphires. “Something old and blue.”
The older woman kissed her cheek for the first time, surprising Anna.
Meg came in with a gold bracelet. “Something borrowed. Welcome to our small family.”
“Thank you.” Anna hugged her soon to be sister-in-law. “I am proud to be a member of your family.”
After Meg left, a soft knock came on the door, and Anna’s maid opened it. Catherine, Duchess of Somerset stood at the entrance.
“Please.” Anna held out her hands to the older woman. “Come in.”
Catherine smiled softly, as she glided forward. “I know we have not had an opportunity to really get to know each other. I wish it could be otherwise.”
Anna wondered if she knew her husband was in the area and what he had done. The first time she met her soon to be mother-in-law, she had absolved her of complicity in the duke’s behavior. She was as Meg confirmed, soft, gentle, and incapable of controlling, or even influencing, Somerset.
“I had this made for you.” It was a finely wrought gold broach in the shape of her coat of arms. “I hope you like it.”
“But how did you know?” Catherine could only have heard about the wedding a few days ago.
She smiled that gentle smile again. “I just know certain things.” She kissed Anna’s cheek. “I will not be able to see you as often as I’d like, but know that I love you, and I am more than happy that Quartus has found his mate.”
Anna’s eyes filled with tears. Some of them she was sure were happy, but others were sad. How much she would like to get to know this lady.