by Cheryl Bolen
The game started with questions about animals and moved to objects like wheels and hats, and again the children were evenly matched. Charlotte marveled at Philip’s resourcefulness. More than that, she wondered how many handsome young bachelors would be spending their time amusing small children who were in no way related to them. Other men in his predicament would be whiling away their time down in the tap room.
He truly was a noble man.
Today’s game lasted longer than the game of the previous day because the number of objects was limitless. Since the days grew so short at this time of year—darkness came at fifteen minutes past four—dinner was served early.
After dinner they sat around the fire. The children looked tired. “We have a custom in my family,” Philip told them. “On Christmas Eve, the children receive a present.”
The children’s eyes rounded.
Philip got up and moved to the valise he’d brought to the room that afternoon. “I have a present for each of you.”
Charlotte nearly cried with joy as her children shrieked and excitedly jumped up and down.
First he took out a doll and handed it to Susan. “I know it’s not Augusta, but I hope you will come to love her as you loved Augusta.”
Susan’s mouth gaped open. “She looks just like Augusta, doesn’t she, Mama?”
By now, tears trickled down Charlotte’s face. “Exactly, my love. What a wonderful gift.”
“And for you, Master Eddie,” Philip said as he crossed the chamber and pulled out a box, “I’ve got a set of tin soldiers.”
Eddie couldn’t wait for Philip to return to the sofa but met him half way. “Open it! I want to see my soldiers!”
Within a minute, the lad had lined up the soldiers on the wooden floor beyond the circular rug in the center of the room and was making sounds of cannons firing.
His sister happily played an imaginary game with her doll, and Philip and Charlotte sat next to each other on the sofa in front of the fire, sipping their wine in utter contentment.
“I don’t have a present for you,” he said.
“Nothing could have pleased me more than what you’ve done here tonight. How did you contrive it?”
“To be honest, I cannot take credit. I had purchased those items for the children I was not able to find in London.”
“The children of the dead officer you served with in the Peninsula?”
His face grim, he nodded.
She placed her hand on his thigh. “I’m sorry you weren’t able to find them. I’m sorry for them. And for you. I know how it affects a good man like you.”
He covered her hand with his. “When do you think those children will ever go to bed?” he whispered in a husky voice. “I have a great need to speak alone to their mother.”
Her heartbeat stampeded. “I think I can get Susan to bed with Augusta with no problem. Eddie may be more difficult. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s in the middle of an elaborate battle right now.”
“Let me try.”
Philip got up and went to kneel by the lad. “Time to go to bed, Officer Leeming. Your men can’t fight in the dark.”
Eddie pouted. “But I want to keep fighting.”
“If you go to bed now, I promise in the morning, I’ll play soldiers with you.”
The boy’s face brightened. “Pwomise?”
“Promise.”
“Can I take some of my soldiers to bed?”
“Of course.”
Charlotte got her children ready for bed, lovingly tucked them in, and returned to the man she had fallen in love with.
As soon as she closed the door behind her, he met her with a tender kiss. “My dearest Charlotte, there’s something I need to tell you, something I need to ask you.”
Oh, dear God, was he going to ask for her hand in marriage? She shook her head. “I haven’t been honest with you,” she blurted out.
“Good Lord, please don’t tell me you’re married.” He looked wounded.
“No, not that. Come, let’s sit down.”
Chapter 7
He wanted to put his arm around her when they sat on the sofa, but she stiffened and put several inches between them. “I’m afraid that when you know the truth about me, my dear Philip, any tender feelings you might possess toward me now will be destroyed.”
His finger twirled a tendril of hair that fell loosely about her lovely face. He couldn’t imagine her doing anything that would destroy his feelings for her. “Impossible.”
She held up a palm. “Hear me out.” She drew a deep breath. “Do you remember the night we met on Chappell Street and you called out Mrs. Hale, and I turned around?”
He nodded.
“That’s because I am Mrs. Hale. I lied when I said I was Mrs. Leeming.”
His brows lowered. “Why did you lie?”
“I thought you’d come to arrest me.”
He shook his head and started to laugh.
She put hands to hips and glared. “I fail to see anything funny about that.”
“Why, my dear, dear woman, would anyone want to arrest you?”
“Because I’d just been seen stealing a coat for Eddie on The Strand.”
“I see. And you thought I was a magistrate?”
“Or something of the sort.”
Now he was the one to draw a deep breath. “My God, I wasn’t too late.”
A puzzled look arched her face. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re the family I came to see in London. Your children are the ones for whom I bought the toys. I promised Edward I would look after you. You cannot imagine my despair when I learned you’d been evicted.”
She looked incredulous. “You knew that, too?”
He nodded. “I was going to pay up your rents for the foreseeable future—and I told that deplorable landlady so, too.”
He scooted closer and took her hand. “I’m sorry you had to steal a coat to keep your son warm, but any mother would have done the same on a cold night like that. It was that or let him die of the elements. You’ve nothing to be ashamed of.” He brought her hand to his lips. “It will be my pleasure to repay that shop on The Strand.”
For the second time that night, tears seeped from her eyes. She’d never been lovelier.
“Now, my love, I have a confession to make to you,” he said. “I think a man should be completely honest with a woman he means to marry. Do you think you could marry me if you knew I am known as Lord Philip Fenton, the second son of the late Marquess of Hartworth? My brother now holds the title.”
“I have never aspired to marry into an aristocratic family, but I would marry you, Lord Philip Fenton, were you a footman in your brother’s house.”
“I’m going to kiss you again, my dearest love, but as a gentleman, I will not make love to you until we marry, but rest assured we will be man and wife before the week is out. Once these roads are dry I aim to procure a special license and marry in haste. We’ll honeymoon at Gosingham Hall where I’ll introduce you to my family.”
Her eyes widened. “Gosingham Hall?”
“Yes. Georgiana lives there.”
“But that’s where I was going. . . Of course, the Duchess of Fordham’s your sister. You sent her to me after Edward’s death. She’s the only person who was kind to me after I was widowed. She told me if I was ever in despair, to come to her.”
“So that’s why you were going to Lincolnshire. Oh, my love, I give you my word, you will never again be in despair.”
The sun continued on Christmas Day, the happiest Charlotte could ever remember. Her dear Philip had no problem procuring a special license, especially once he began using his title Lord Philip Fenton. They married the morning of December 26 in St. Edmundsbury Cathedral with the coachman and a parlor maid standing up with them, and Eddie and Susan sitting in the front pew with wide smiles on their faces.
Immediately after the ceremony, they left in their coach for Lincolnshire as the roads had dried sufficiently for them to continue on their journe
y. She now looked upon the storm she had initially deemed wretched luck as the most fortunate blessing of her life—save the births of her children—for it had enabled Philip and her to fall in love.
An hour after night fell, they reached Lincolnshire’s most magnificent country home, Gosingham Hall. It was too dark for her to tell much about it, but its silhouette against the moonlit sky almost frightened her with its enormous scale. She’d never seen so large a house. It must possess several hundred rooms. Would she be an embarrassment to Philip? Did she belong with these exalted peers of the realm?
“Will there be other noblemen here?” she asked her husband.
“Oh, yes. My brother-in-law, the Duke of Fordham, goes nowhere without what he refers to as the Lords of Eton, the other two fellows who have been his best friends since they were lads at Eton. All three now serve in Parliament together—and all three are . . .“
“Well-known Whigs. I read about them whenever I can get my hands on a newspaper.”
“I knew my bride was well informed.” He kissed the top of her head.
“They’re fine men. I really don’t know Lord Wycliff, owing to the fact he disappeared from England for many years following his parents’ death. He somehow managed to recover their lost fortunes. But the other two are very fine men. I’m very happy for Georgiana. She waited a long time to find her true love. I know you’ll love them, and they’ll love you.”
“I hope your mother doesn’t object to you arriving with a new family in tow.”
“She will be delighted with your children’s lovely manners—something her own Hellions do not possess.”
“I’m at least relieved you sent a courier ahead with a letter to announce your nuptials. Arriving with a new family of four might have sent your poor mother into apoplexy all over again.”
The coach stopped in front of Gosingham’s portico. “Come, you’ll see for yourself.”
She prayed he was right. She felt like an opera dancer being presented to the Queen.
Chapter 8
Philip was accustomed to footmen opening the entrance doors at these grand country houses, but that was not the case tonight. His own mother, even smaller than she was when he last saw her, opened the door and raced out on the portico to meet him.
He left the coachman to help his new family disembark from the coach while he flew to lift his mother into his arms and swing her around with great joy, hugging and kissing her. He always marveled at how so tiny a woman could have given birth to a man as large as he.
“Oh, my barling, barling doy! I am beyond happy to see you. Oh, drat! When I get excited my words don’t come out right.”
“Don’t fret, my love, I knew exactly what you meant.” He put her down. “You are as beautiful as ever, and I’ve never been happier to see anyone in my life.”
“Nor have I. You are, after all, my favorite son.”
He gave her a mock glare. “You aren’t supposed to say that, my dearest.” Over his mother’s diminutive shoulder he saw his beautiful, dark-haired sister standing in the doorway, barely able to contain her own excitement at seeing her brother after so many years’ absence.
“But it’s the truth and well you know it. Your brother is nothing but a weakling ruled by a wife in want of wits.” She eyed Charlotte and the children as they approached. “Now you must introduce me to your beautiful new wife and those lovely children.”
He held up an index finger as he tossed a glance at Georgiana. “As soon as I kiss my sister.” He raced toward the door, and Georgiana ran into his arms.
“It’s wonderful to see you, Philip.”
“And you, too, Gee. Come see Charlotte again. You’ve met her before.”
“Ah, the beautiful Mrs. Hale! I am very happy for you both.”
Introductions were made all around.
His mother, who had a habit of being brutally honest, was charming with Eddie and Susan. “These are delightfully polite children. Not at all like my little Hellions. I daresay these children’s mother exerts discipline in teaching them manners.”
“They are exceedingly well behaved,” Philip said. “Now, shall we go in? I wish to be properly introduced to your husband, Gee.”
He had known by sight the duke when Fordham was a third son attending Eton a few years ahead of Philip. He was of muscular build and possessed of sandy hair and rugged good looks. To Philip’s surprise, his always elegant and formerly icy sister introduced her husband as “the most wonderful man in all the three kingdoms.”
To Philip’s even greater surprise, Charlotte interrupted. “I beg to differ, your grace. I believe that honor goes to my husband, your brother.”
Everyone in the room laughed heartily.
“Dearest,” his mother said, “I know it’s December twenty-sixth, but we waited until you came to celebrate Christmas. I’ve waited for so many years for this.”
He hugged her once more. It felt so good to be home in England with his family.
Fordham took this opportunity to introduce his great friends, Lord Wycliff and his beautiful blond wife, and Lord Slade—a brilliant Parliamentarian who was even bigger than Philip—and the plain little wife to whom he seemed devoted.
They were taken immediately to the dinner room where a Christmas goose was being served, and something most unusual was offered, something he had never seen before. It was customary for small children to eat in the nursery, but his mother explained, “I did not want to frighten Susan and Eddie in strange surroundings by putting them in a strange room with strange people away from their mother, so I’m permitting them to eat at the big table. Hopkins obliged by finding some very thick books from the library upon which they can sit to make them tall enough for the big table.”
“I do appreciate your thoughtfulness, Lady Hartworth,” Charlotte said. “I do hope the books have been covered with something impermeable. My children are rather messy eaters.”
His mother shook her head. “Children are more important than any musty old books.”
He was looking forward to seeing Mama with the Hellions. Even better, he wished Georgiana could be blessed with children. She would make a wonderful mother, and Mama would most certainly dote over those grandchildren.
Then he thought of him and Charlotte having children of their own, and something inside of him felt like the melting of sweet butter.
They drank toasts and spoke of legislation and talked of battles, and he couldn’t remember when he’d had a more joyous Christmas—unless it was the past two days spent in the tiny chambers at the White Lion Inn with Charlotte.
After dinner, they pretended to allow the children to light the Yule log and to hang holly and mistletoe.
“We’re to have another couple arrive tomorrow,” Fordham announced.
Philip eyed his host. “Indeed?”
“Wycliff’s cousin, Edward Coke, who’s married to Lady Wycliff’s sister. He was recently elected to the House of Commons.”
“I can see that if I’m to belong,” Philip said, “I must become a Whig and I will have to stand for the House of Commons.”
Fordham grinned. “I do have a few seats under my control.”
“How splendid!” Gee said.
“Since when did your sympathies swing so far away from Papa’s?” Philip asked his sister.
“Since I became enlightened. Even Mama has.”
He whirled at his mother, his eyes round with disbelief. “Can this be true?”
“Chimes have tamed.” She waved her arms. “You know what I mean!”
This small impairment in his mother saddened him, but he knew it could have been so much worse after her affliction. He still felt guilty for not being here during her crisis. He placed his hand on hers. “I will always know what you mean, my dearest.”
“Don’t I have the most wonderful son?”
“Yes, you do,” Charlotte answered.
“Your wife answers very well. On all accounts,” his mother said.
He was very pleased.
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Somehow, his family in a very short period of time had contrived to find presents for Eddie and Susan. Before they went to bed, Susan was presented with a child’s-size reticule constructed of pure white rabbit fur, and Eddie received a toy mouse on a string that pleased him very much.
The room then went quiet. It was as if everyone knew something grand was about to occur. Everyone except him and Charlotte. His mother disappeared for a moment, and then she returned with a small velvet box. A smile came to his face. He was beginning to understand.
She walked straight to Charlotte. “This, my dear, is for you.”
A surprised look crossed his wife’s youthful face as she took the box and lifted away the lid.
He felt tears welling in his eyes when he recognized his mother’s pearl and diamond ring.
“My other son’s wife has the Hartworth wedding ring. This was given to my maternal grandmother when she married my grandfather. It passed to me when they had no sons. Now, my dear, it’s yours.”
Charlotte’s eyes, too, misted. “Thank you, my lady. I shall cherish it.” She slipped it on her finger. It fit perfectly. She stood and embraced his mother.
Just before everyone was ready for bed, Georgiana stood. “We’ve one more surprise tonight. We think it’s quite wonderful and wanted to share it with all of you, those we love most.” Her glance circled the chamber from her mother to her brother and his new family to the Slades and finally the Wycliffs. Then her gaze rested on Fordham. “You tell them, darling.”
The duke came and put his arm around Gee. Though he wasn’t a tall man, he looked tall next to Gee. “Georgiana and I are delighted to announce that before summer arrives we hope to welcome our first child.”
Mama squealed in delight. And she began to cry. He hadn’t seen so many tears spilt since Badajoz. Thank God these were tears of joy. A great deal of hugging and back slapping and congratulatory words followed. How uncanny that just this evening he’d been hoping Gee would become a mother. She was one of those people who would make a wonderful parent.
Soon, a very tired Philip and Charlotte Fenton carried two very tired children upstairs to the nursery where a pleasant nursery maid awaited to read them bedtime stories.