His gaze followed my hand. "No. You're…?"
I nodded. "Just. I was going to tell you in some clever way before the party."
He laughed. It was the most beautiful, joyous sound I'd ever heard. "I'm glad you told me now."
"Take your clothes off and get under the covers with me," I whispered to him. "Make love to me, daddy-to-be."
He kicked off his shoes and pulled his T-shirt off over his head, revealing his finely sculpted body. "On one condition—you let me delete all those pleading messages I sent you before you listen to them. No one wants to hear me beg."
"I do," I said. "But not that way."
Ren got up early the next morning to head back to London for work. We discussed the box before he left. He wanted it returned to its spot in the wall, believing that revealing the contents now would only reignite old rumors. He didn't think making it public would solve anything. In his mind, it would make him look defensive.
I teased him that bricking something into a wall was very Poe. He said he liked Poe. Mystery added to the allure of our haunted castle. I had the contractor brick it back in, and spent the next few days getting ready for my big Halloween party.
Halloween day, my staff and I were running ragged. I barely had time to change into my medieval lady costume and chase after the late-afternoon grounds tour. My ghost hunters were leading it. Having determined the most likely time for seeing the knight of the lake, they headed for the loggia with a large group of guests. If our knight of the lake was spooked by crowds, he wasn't going to make an appearance tonight. I guessed we'd see.
Ren texted that traffic was holding him up in London. He was running late. He asked me to wait for him at the loggia. I caught the tail end of the ghost-hunting tour, getting to the loggia just as they left and headed into the haunted maze before it got too dark to enjoy it.
They were going to have fun in the maze. I'd stocked it with surprises and monsters, all kinds of scares. Next year, I had plans to make the haunted maze a month-long event, like a corn maze back home. Overall, my Halloween event was already looking like a success.
The locals warned me that Halloween often marked the turn of the weather from fall to winter. The day could be rainy and stormy. Some years they even got a few flakes of snow. But this Halloween was beautiful, calm and partly sunny. The sunset promised to be gorgeous if the fog didn't roll in. The lake was already covered with its signature mist.
I took a seat on the bench and watched the lake, waiting for Ren. The clouds and sky lit up in brilliant oranges and pinks. The breeze rustled the bare branches and blew the fallen leaves around. It was eerily beautiful as the mist moved onshore. It was easy to see how people saw ghosts in the mist. It moved and swirled in graceful and almost human ways. It was like watching clouds in the sky. You saw what you wanted to see and made shapes where there were none. But then, before my eyes, a figure appeared in the mist, very clearly. A tall knight wearing full armor rose from the lake like something from an Arthurian legend.
My breath caught. I fumbled wildly, reaching for my phone in my dress pocket. I managed to snap a quick picture—
I felt a presence on the steps behind me. I turned, ready to scream.
"Bliss."
I jumped and put a hand to my chest.
Ren came up the steps on the opposite side of the loggia. He appeared almost out of nowhere, like his twin in the lake, just like he had the first time. He was dressed in fine armor, a golden knight. "Not the reaction I was hoping for. You look like you've seen a ghost."
"The knight." I pointed toward the lake, but he was gone, vanished into the mist.
Ren arched an eyebrow. "The knight of the lake? You mean me."
I laughed. "I mean the real ghost."
"Are ghosts real, Bliss? Can they be real?" He was trying not to smile.
"This is no time for a metaphysical discussion. You didn't see him? He was right there." I pointed. "Not very gallant of you, knight. To leave me hanging." I shook my head. "Where did he go? I got a picture of him."
Ren looked skeptical. "Making shapes out of the mist like the locals?"
I rolled my eyes and got to my feet to show him the picture. But it was blurry. If you squinted hard enough, you could kind of make out a knight.
"Another blurry photo for our promo pieces," Ren said. "What is it with ghosts that they don't show up in pictures? Must be like vampires and mirrors."
I was disappointed, but I laughed. It was true. I slid my phone back in my pocket, ready to throw myself into Ren's arms. "How do you do that, sneak up on me so quietly? And wearing full battle armor, too? You must be part ghost."
"I've been taking lessons from my lake knight buddy."
"Stop it, you tease."
He tapped his arm. "Here's the real secret—it's not real metal. No clinking." He was hiding something in one hand.
"You don't say?" I said. "What do you have? What are you hiding? No more secrets, we promised."
He took my left hand and rubbed his thumb over my wedding ring. "I hate this bloody ugly ring. What was Uncle thinking when he had it designed?"
I shrugged. "Manly's mind was a mystery."
Ren laughed. "I've never felt good about marrying you with my uncle's ring. That it's completely hideous only makes me feel worse." He opened his left hand, revealing a small box.
There was a second when I hoped like crazy it wasn't the ring he'd bought for Zoe. I was relieved to remember that ring was bricked in a wall. But I should have trusted Ren not to reuse a ring, especially not that one.
Ren opened the box, revealing the gorgeous ring he'd admired at the jeweler's, his dream ring.
I started shaking and blinked back tears of joy.
"I'd like you to wear my ring, my lady. If you will?"
I slipped Manly's ring off my right hand and held my shaking left hand out to Ren. "I'd be honored, your grace."
Ren slipped the ring on and kissed me, softly and slowly. I was lost in him, desperately in love with him and deliriously happy. This was the way fairytales should end. And why shouldn't I have a fairytale? I was living in a castle.
"How long have you been planning this?" I asked as I admired my new ring.
"Long enough to want to be your knight in shining armor, not your ghostly murdered lover."
I laughed. "I get it now. I forgive your lack of imagination and take back all the mean things I said about you when you wouldn't be a ghost."
He grinned.
"And the loggia! This is where we first met." I was still clutching Manly's ring. I opened my hand, unsure what to do with it. Put it on my right hand?
Ren saw my dilemma and held his hand out. "I'll take that."
I handed it to him. He slid it in the jeweler's box and snapped the lid closed.
"You know that's mine?" I teased.
He slipped the box into his tunic pocket beneath his armor. "Yeah. But I don't want to see it on any of your fingers. Or your toes. Or hanging around your neck on a chain."
"Why? You hate that ring that much?" I was curious now. This felt like it went beyond jewelry and good taste.
"I have another confession to make." He looked suddenly serious. He took my hand again and studied the ring he'd given me. "I had a fight with Manly the morning of our wedding. The fight puts the ring in a bad light—to me, anyway."
"I know about the fight," I said. "Harris told me he heard you and Manly shouting at each other and arguing. He didn't elaborate on the details. He told me because he'd had to tell the police. It doesn't matter."
"I think it does," Ren said. "I had a fight with Manly over you."
"What?"
Ren nodded, looking sheepish. "I was jealous. I'd only just met you, but there was something about you. I couldn't get you out of my mind. I didn't want you to marry Uncle. I was determined to stop him. I wanted a chance with you."
"Oh."
"Gives me a motive, doesn't it?" He grinned sardonically.
"I think it's romantic," I s
aid, hugging him. "Having two men fighting over me."
"Romantic, huh? Fighting with another one of my relatives over a woman." He lifted an eyebrow. "A feeble hundred-year-old man with a weak heart, at that."
"Okay, so it wasn't a fair fight." I kissed Ren lightly.
"No, he had me dead to rights. He refused 'to relinquish' you. His words. He was old-fashioned."
I couldn't help laughing at the way Ren said it.
"Oh, see, laughing at my expense?" Ren said. "And here I was trying to save you from the bed of an ancient man."
"To get me into yours?"
Ren looked me in the eye. The corners of his lips twitched. "That was the plan. I told Uncle his plan would never work. His heart wasn't strong enough for sex. And even if it were, all those male performance drugs he had in his nightstand were evidence he was having problems getting it up. He'd be better off leaving you to someone who could."
I sputtered. "You told Manly that? About the weak heart, too?"
"Kind of ironic." Ren squeezed me. "But his heart condition was no secret. And then the police questioned me and told me Uncle had too much heart medicine in his system when he died. And I felt guilty. Had he overdosed on heart meds to prove me wrong?"
I stared at Ren, who looked, at least partially, repentant. "You killed Manly with thoughts of having sex with me? To prove you wrong?"
He shrugged.
"You're a dangerous man. I don't believe you're guilty for a minute. Oh. I just caught the other irony—Manly was concerned about Will overdosing and then Manly dies of a drug overdose, too. And all because of you." I kissed Ren quickly. "You're going to have to stop taking credit for other people's deaths."
"Am I?" He grinned.
"Ren?"
"Yeah?"
"You lied to me about why you wanted that foxglove you had in your hand when we first met. I asked Bendi about it and he said it was a weed. He'd never asked for it."
"Still making the case against me?" he asked. "After I bared my heart—"
"Your lust, I believe."
His grin widened. "About fighting Manly for you."
I looked at him like I expected an answer.
"That, the foxglove. Guilty as charged, barrister. For lying to impress. Foxglove is poisonous to dogs as well as humans. That variety is particularly lethal, but Uncle never believed it. One of Uncle's dogs, my favorite when I was young, ate some, poor animal, and died. Uncle promised me he'd get rid of the patch of it. When I saw it, still growing abundantly and lushly all these years later, I picked a piece to take to Bendi to test. I was going to confront Uncle with the results later. I got carried away and confronted him with a piece of it during the fight I had over you. That seemed like a complicated story to tell a woman I just met. So I fudged it a bit."
"Too bad. I would have given you points for being concerned about animals," I said. "You're a very good liar."
"One of my many talents." He took my hand. "We should be getting back. The party's about to start."
"Ren, what would you like me to do with my ring from Manly?"
"I'd like to never see it again. We could brick it into a wall? I know a mason who can do the job."
"What is it with you and bricking jewelry into walls?" I joked.
"Treasure for future generations," he said.
"Alternatively," I said, "we could sell it and use the proceeds toward your sustainable houses?"
"Or that," he said. "Did I tell you how much I love you?"
"Not often enough. Tell me again."
Manly Manor was the perfect spooky castle. As we walked up the drive toward it, it showed to perfection a Halloween jewel, a setting so haunting, and haunted, it was beautiful.
Ren noticed the gargoyles immediately. "My house gargoyles?"
I nodded. "The real gargoyles are too high up to frighten the guests sufficiently."
Ren laughed. "But some of my gargoyles are cute. One of them is smiling."
"Cute is a matter of taste, I believe."
Harris was waiting for us. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Duke and Duchess of Manly have arrived."
We were greeted with applause and began mingling with the guests. We'd planned all along to have a meet-and-greet outside before leading the guests inside.
I shared my exciting news about seeing the knight with the ghost hunters and people who'd been on the tour, and showed them my picture of the knight of the lake. The guests were envious and disappointed they'd been at the lake just moments too early. Next year! They'd be back to try again. A near-miss with a ghost was obviously good for repeat business.
The ghost hunters wanted me to text the photo to them for further evaluation. And I was definitely sending it to my marketing team and making a copy to add to Manly's journals.
The atmosphere was lovely and spooky. The costumes people wore were fun and festive. We served beverages, alcoholic and non. Laughter floated on the air. A bat flew overhead, adding to the atmosphere. One of the women screamed. Everyone laughed. If you lived in the country, you were used to bats.
I was engrossed in conversation with a group of guests, standing in the courtyard alongside the steps up to the entrance, enjoying myself. I hadn't been paying any particular attention to who was coming and going.
"Bitch!"
I looked up, startled. A woman dressed as a princess stood at the stone railing on the stairs above me next to one of the prop gargoyles. Where was security?
She glared at me and pointed, gesturing wildly. "How dare you force Ren to marry you, you conniving little tart! How dare you steal him from me!"
Ren, who was ten or so feet away talking to another group, looked up. "Cory?"
Her face was etched with fury. In a sudden fit of temper, she gave the gargoyle, which was directly above me, a shove.
She looked surprised when it moved and toppled over the edge. A look of horror instantly crossed her face as she realized what she'd done. "Duck!"
People screamed. Ren raced toward me.
I stood calmly in place as the gargoyle hurtled toward me. Cory needed a lesson in anger management. The gargoyles were made of breakable plastic. This would make a good show.
Ren, fast on his feet as he was, was too late to "save me." I didn't want to be saved. This made for good Halloween magic.
The gargoyle hit me squarely on the head and shattered into hundreds of pieces without hurting me in the slightest. I smiled serenely and turned to Ren. "I hope you don't have any more exes. You really did have bad taste in women before you met me."
He grinned. "If only Cory had shown more spunk before."
I gave him a playful shove.
Lady Cory ran down the stairs. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Ren, I'm sorry!" Tears streamed down her face as security hauled her away.
I turned to Ren. "She's sorry to you? I'm the one she tried to murder."
The guests thought it was part of the show and applauded.
"What do you want to do about Cory?" Ren held me tightly, stroking my hair. "Do you want to charge her?"
I shook my head. "I don't think she meant to kill me. I don't think she thought the gargoyle would even budge, let alone topple over. And it was a good show."
"It was an excellent show. But let's not repeat it. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"I have that effect on husbands." I leaned my head against his chest.
"I didn't know those were prop gargoyles," Ren said. "There was a horrible moment when I thought you were going to die. I couldn't believe you just stood there."
"Yes, but you rushed to my rescue. You really are my knight in shining armor." I smiled. "Best Halloween ever. I love you."
Epilogue
One year later
Village Chapel, Manly Manor
For some unknown universal reason, babies don't like being anointed with water. Or wearing long, stiff gowns they have a habit of spitting up on. Our son was no different and completely indifferent to the fate of the two hundred-year-old christening gown he wore.
Or that he'd just been given one of Ren's lesser titles, that of marquis. And two loving godparents had sworn to love and guide him.
Ren held and cooed to our beautiful, screaming baby boy, who was plainly indignant at the injustice of being paraded around in front of a church full of strangers. Strangers to him, anyway. And it was almost feeding time, too. Which meant my breasts were heavy with milk.
We held the christening on Manly's birthday, near the white lady's tomb, beneath Manly's newly dedicated ducal plaque. Which was a fitting tribute to my almost-husband and the white lady. Manly would have been proud of the new heir to his dukedom. Our boy looked like Ren, who looked like Manly. And from what I could tell, he also had their charm and intelligence. Maybe that was just my bias coming through.
The white lady had been quiet this past year. Her curse appeared to be broken. She wasn't so malevolent after all, was she? She'd helped me get over my doubts about Ren by walking through the spot where the box was. She'd helped me piece the past together and see Ren for the wonderful man he was. Future brides, I thought, wouldn't need to worry about seeing her before their weddings.
I planned to make the castle a destination wedding venue, too. As soon as the renovation was finished. Maybe next year. Like all building projects, Ren assured me, it was over budget and behind schedule.
It was also our anniversary and a Sunday. Ren said we might as well put everything on the same date. It was easier to remember them that way, just one day to think about.
I told him there was a downside—if we forgot that one date, we were in really big trouble.
As an anniversary present, I gave Ren the portrait I'd had painted of him. The contractors were coming in on Monday to hang it in place of Manly's. We were moving Manly to a spot in the hall with his ancestors. It was time I had my duke to stare at as I came down the stairs.
I had everything I wanted now—the castle, a baby, Ren. We had a real marriage, a wonderful marriage. Neither of us wanted to end it, certainly not at the year mark, when the contract ended. Which, surprisingly, made Mom happy. She liked Ren. And she was happy to be saved the trouble of getting me a clean divorce.
Duked: Duke One, Duke Society Series Page 26