A Bewitching Lord of Her Own: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Lucy Langton

  When their shopping seemed to have finally ended, and the many shopping bags and boxes secured to the carriage, the women made their way home to the townhouse. Ada knew that the Earl was busy making the wedding arrangements and settling matters of business now that he could claim his inheritance. Ada only hoped that he was making wise choices with the sudden increase in wealth and wouldn’t lose himself to the gentlemen’s clubs once more.

  As they entered the townhouse, the footmen and maids were busy putting away their purchases and preparing for the wedding tomorrow. The women made their way to the drawing room to enjoy afternoon tea and take a rest from all that they had accomplished that day. Ada was surprised when they entered the drawing room, chattering away, to discover Lord Statham sitting in the room with a newspaper in hand.

  “Ah, Flynt. It’s so good to see you home,” Dowager Statham said as she took a seat on the settee with her sister. Ada took a deep breath as she settled into the chair next to her fiancé, thinking it was the correct thing to do.

  “My business matters did not take me as long as it seems it took the three of you to finish your own errands,” Lord Statham said with a grin.

  “One can never be too over-prepared,” Dowager Statham said as she smiled at Ada. “You should rest assured that your bride is fully prepared for the trip to Bath.”

  Lord Statham looked at Ada and gave her a small smile but didn’t comment on that matter as he instead said, “I have finished my business with Lord Locke.” He then withdrew a few documents from the inside of his jacket and handed them to his mother. The two sisters leaned together as they read over the documents. When Dowager White sighed heavily, Ada could only assume that the documents contained good news.

  “Then I can only hope that this matter can be put into the past as we look forward to a much brighter future,” Dowager Statham said as she gave the documents back to her son. “And by this time tomorrow, the two of you will be on your way to Bath to relax.”

  “With most of society in Town for the Season, I’m sure it will be quiet in the countryside,” Ada mused, trying to make conversation with her fiancé.

  “I’ve never been good with too much quiet,” Lord Statham commented. “I would like to think that you will continue to play the piano once we are married.”

  “Of course, Lord Statham. I wouldn’t be able to think of a future that didn’t include music of some sort,” Ada assured.

  “Would you care to join me for a turn about the gardens, Miss Ada?” Lord Statham asked as he stood. “I know it’s been a busy morning, but I thought it would be a good way to spend the time before dinner.”

  Ada rose to her feet, not willing to refuse the offer when she dearly wanted to rest. She felt she had already done a lot of walking and being about with all the shopping Dowager Statham had wanted to accomplish. But she took her fiancé’s extended arm nonetheless and allowed him to lead her to the gardens out of the door of the drawing room.

  “I expect that the weather will be good for travelling tomorrow,” Lord Statham commented once they had entered the gardens proper.

  “I agree,” Ada said. “My parents often went to Bath, so I look forward to going for the first time.”

  “I hadn’t realized you have never been,” Lord Statham said as they paused their walk near the tall maple tree and he looked down at her then. Ada met his eyes and hoped that when he observed her, he felt some sort of anticipation when it came to their marriage tomorrow.

  “I know it is a good place to go and heal,” Ada reasoned. “Perhaps you will find healing of your own.” Lord Statham only nodded as he led them further into the garden.

  “Miss Ada, I wanted to make a few things clear before we are married tomorrow,” Lord Statham said after a few more minutes of them walking together. Ada was doing her best to keep her nerves at bay, but when he finally acknowledged their wedding, Ada forced herself not to start trembling.

  “I want you to know that I don’t want you to feel pressured when it comes to our wedding night. I can only assume that you have never been with a man before, and therefore I don’t want you to think that we have to be intimate right away. We can wait to get to know one another first,” he explained.

  Ada only nodded first as she thought about the topic of conversation. “Lord Statham, I am fully prepared to perform my wifely duties. You are right in thinking I have never been intimate before. However, a large part of being married is producing children. And I am ready for such things,” Ada confessed. Ada looked up at her husband-to-be and saw how pale his face had become at the mention of children.

  “Then it’s perhaps I that may need some time to adjust,” he confessed then.

  “Of course, My Lord. I wouldn’t want you to feel pressured, either,” Ada said, trying to smile kindly for him.

  “You’re truly a good woman, Miss Ada. I should always be grateful that I was paired with such a woman as yourself,” Lord Statham said, looking down on her once more. Ada looked into his blue eyes and thought she could lose herself in them. She remembered how she had felt at the end of the concert when it was just the two of them standing so close together that she could easily have kissed him. And now that they were together in the garden, alone and unseen, she wondered if now was a good time to discover what it would be liked to be kissed.

  However, Ada dismissed the thought as they continued. They would be married tomorrow, and she would be kissed by him at the end of the wedding ceremony. And, if he wasn’t comfortable being intimate, perhaps he also wasn’t comfortable kissing her, either.

  As they returned to the drawing room, Ada excused herself, wanting to rest a bit before dinner. She received no protest as she left the room and hurried to her bedchamber. It was only behind the locked door did she feel a sense of privacy and the ability to finally relax and let her forced smile fall from her face.

  Tossing off her day gown, she crawled onto the bed in her chemise and let her head lay down on the plump pillow filled with goose down feathers. She turned away from the windowpanes where the sun came in, hoping to find comfort in the darker parts of the room. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths to feel a sense of peace.

  “Everything will be alright,” she whispered to herself, willing her body to relax. But eventually, the nerves took over, and she began to shiver as though she was cold. “Everything will be splendid … it will be fine.” But no matter how many positive thoughts she spoke out loud, she didn’t seem to be able to calm herself till she finally fell asleep from exhaustion.

  Chapter 12

  Ada was feeling a bit better by the next morning. She had been able to rest the day before and enjoyed a delicious dinner. Come morning, she was fit to wed Lord Statham and start her new life as a married woman. Ada was standing in her bedchamber as a maid helped her ready into her wedding gown, and the widowed sisters sat in chairs as they chatted happily together and continued to remark on Ada’s beauty.

  “There hasn’t been such a beautiful bride in all of England since I was married,” Dowager Statham teased.

  “Are you saying I was not a beautiful bride?” Dowager White was quick to ask.

  “The late Lord Statham insisted upon it that I was the most beautiful, so I will not argue with my husband,” Dowager Statham teased again. “But with Miss Ada standing before us, we can both agree that she is a vision.”

  “I will not argue with you, dear sister, on such a wonderful day. Miss Ada is truly beautiful,” Dowager White said with a smile.

  Ada watched herself being transformed in the looking glass before her. She had been changed from her nightgown into the wedding gown she had tried on the day before. It now fit her perfectly after having a few alterations. Her long brown hair had been curled and pinned to her head with pearl-encrusted long pins made of silver. Lastly, the veil comb was tucked into her hair, and a layer of lace clouded her vision.

  “Flynt is truly the luckiest man alive,” Dowager Statham said as she stood with her sister. “You are beautiful
through and through, Miss Ada. Don’t ever let anyone tell you differently.”

  “Thank you, Dowager Statham. I know this day wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for your good influence and design,” Ada remarked.

  “Well, I think this day wouldn’t have happened if my son had made better choices in life,” Dowager Statham said. “However, in time, I think the two of you would have grown together eventually.”

  “I like to think so as well,” Ada said simply to agree with the woman. Ada wouldn’t dare speak of how nervous she was or of not being sure if she could sleep that night when she shared a bed with her new husband. For now, Ada only focused on what was happening at that moment instead of fearing what the future would hold for her.

  Once Ada was ready with drops of rose water underneath her chin, the women left the bedchamber and made their way slowly down the hallway to the stairs. Ada followed behind the older women, seeing them both dressed in beautiful light blue gowns of satin. They were truly lovely together, and at least Ada could reason that she was happy to see both of them so happy.

  The carriage ride to the nearby chapel was a short trip. As Ada stepped down from the carriage after the two widowed sisters, she was handed a bouquet of freshly cut roses from the footman. They were wrapped in layers of blue and white ribbon to protect her hands from the thorns. She followed after the older women like she had done countless times before as their companion. However, at the open door of the small chapel, she stood still and waited for them to get into position at the front of the altar.

  It was then that she looked through her veil to see Lord Statham standing at the wooden altar covered by a white cloth. The priest stood behind it, and a gentleman Ada had not been introduced to stood at Lord Statham’s side. But as she began to walk down the aisle, she focused her eyes on her intended.

  He was dressed smartly in a black coat embroidered in black silk that gleamed in the sunlight. He wore a matching black vest over a pressed cotton shirt. His cravat was ruffled unlike the common pressed designs. She could only assume it had been a recommendation from his mother that he didn’t want to push to the side in fear of offending her.

  Overall, Ada thought, the Earl looked rather handsome. She couldn’t contain a smile that spread to her lips as she looked at the man. It was easy for her to see that their children would be handsome based on their mutual good looks. And the fact that Lord Statham was very muscular made her wonder what their intimate times together would be like. Such thoughts caused her to blush deeply by the time she reached the altar and stood shoulder to shoulder with her soon-to-be husband.

  Ada focused her eyes on the priest as he spoke, but from time to time, she would sneak glances at Lord Statham from the corners of her eyes. She thought he looked relaxed for such a rushed situation. It made her wonder if he had come to terms with the fact that they would marry and together they would start a whole new life together.

  The moment Ada had been preparing for came as the priest announced them man and wife. Flynt slid a gold band onto her ring finger, and she in turn did the same for him. Together they signed the official document with a gold-tipped quill, and Lord Statham sealed it with a wax seal that included the crest of his family name. And then they were left to face one another as he stepped forward and drew back her veil to reveal her face. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, doing so ever so gently, and just long enough to get a sense of what her first kiss would feel like.

  “Bravo!” called Dowager Statham as they linked arms and faced those who had come to witness the marriage.

  “Such a lovely ceremony,” Dowager White added as she clapped excitedly.

  “My dear, may I introduce you to my oldest friend, Lord Peterson,” Lord Statham said, gesturing towards the gentleman that she hadn’t recognized. She noted the way her husband called her ‘my dear’ and couldn’t help smiling brightly as she made introductions with Lord Peterson.

  “Statham is truly a lucky man to have been able to marry such a beautiful young lady,” Lord Peterson said as he dipped his head towards her.

  “Thank you for the compliment and coming to witness our marriage,” Ada replied in kind.

  “Well, we should get you two back to the townhouse to change for your trip to Bath. The sooner you head off, the sooner you are to arrive,” Dowager Statham said cheerfully. As they said their goodbyes to Lord Peterson, Lord Statham promising to have him to the house once they returned to Town, the four of them then rode in the carriage back to the townhouse so she and Lord Statham could prepare for the trip to Bath.

  “Seeing you two together really warms my heart,” Dowager Statham said as she patted the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief, the top of her feathered hat brushing against the top of the carriage. She’d worn one of her finest and most extravagant hats for the occasion, and Ada couldn’t help smiling at it now.

  “I’m glad you are happy, Mother,” Lord Statham spoke up. Ada sat next to her husband with her hands clamped around the bouquet of roses. She wasn’t sure if she should try to hold his hand or what signs of endearment would be reasonable now that they were married. She hoped to fall in love with the man and thought a bit of encouragement would do the trick. She reasoned that would be more fitting for the carriage ride to Bath.

  ~*~

  Flynt couldn’t wait to get out of the monkey suit. The moment they had returned to the townhouse, he made haste to his bedchamber to be changed into a simple muslin shirt and riding pants. With the layers gone, he felt like he could breathe again.

  He quickly consumed another glass of brandy, needing something to settle his nerves after the ceremony and in preparation for the long trip to Bath with his new wife. The reality of the fact had yet to dawn on him, and he was starting to become nervous over the idea that the two of them would be sharing a bed that evening.

  Though Flynt wasn’t opposed to the idea of female companionship in his bed, this was not like any of the other times he’d succumbed to his lustful nature. Ada was a pure, innocent young lady who had never been with a man. It was his responsibility to show her what it meant to be intimate, and without a mutual love between them, he knew the action would be more animalistic than actual love making.

  Flynt sighed as he set his empty glass aside and ran his fingers through his hair. He wasn’t particularly keen about the idea of travelling to Bath because the area was so remote and there was little to do besides to soak in the healing waters.

  The place was often frequented by elderly couples and those who were ill. He didn’t think it a fitting place for a honeymoon. But after his mother had suggested it, he had simply gone with the idea because it seemed that her suggestions were the only thing keeping him sane these days.

  Now that the debt to Lord Locke had been paid, he felt a little more relaxed. He didn’t fear debtors’ prison any longer, and now that he was married, perhaps he would gain a new sense of purpose with the full responsibilities of the Earldom upon him. But any thought of making a big decision caused him to feel nervous and frustrated once more.

  As Flynt made his way downstairs to join his bride and head off to Bath, he tried to tell himself to relax. Everything was going as planned, and he was lucky to have married such a good-hearted young lady. She was sweet and kind, played the piano beautifully, and the sound of her singing voice often put him at ease. Perhaps during their travels, he could convince her to sing for him to help him to relax and not fret so much about the future, or the past.

  “There’s the luckiest man in the world,” said his mother as he descended the stairs. Ada was standing in the entryway dressed in a plum coloured travelling gown and leather boots. Her hair was still pinned up with the pearl pins, and Flynt couldn’t deny that she did look absolutely beautiful.

  “I am truly lucky, am I not?” he said, looking at his mother, then his wife. “I can easily say that I have nothing to fear any longer. I am truly grateful.” When Ada smiled brightly up at him, his heart seemed to tighten. He didn’t like lying to
her, especially since she was his wife. He should be comfortable to say anything to her. Yet, he was nervous as before about making a poor choice that would now hurt the both of them.