by Eva Andrews
“Thank you Mr. O’Connor, can you show my wife your selection of rings. Price is of no consequence, whatever her heart desires if you please.”
Luke walked Genevieve over to the counter Mr. O’Connor stood before, and smiled down at her and gave her a wink. She should have known the man would plan something like this,
Genevieve looked down upon the dazzling rings, “Oh my, I don’t even know where to start, these are all so lovely,” pausing, she looked up at Luke a bit lost. She silently begged him for help, she was a bit out of her element.
“These are beautiful Mr. O’Connor, but I’m looking for something a bit more, eh, how shall we say, unique for my wife.”
The shop owner put a finger up as if he had a brilliant idea, “I’ve got it, just a moment if you please.” Walking over to the vault he retrieved a velvet-lined case and brought it back over to Luke and Genevieve. Setting down the case before them, he removed the top of the walnut box and pulled back the purple velvet fabric to reveal ten rings that made Vieve’s jaw drop.
Standing beside her she could feel Luke watching as she looked at the precious jewels before her. Feeling her anxiety over picking out something so expensive she bit her lip as she looked down at the exquisite selection of rings.
Feeling his hand on her lower back, he pulled her closer, “Which one my love, which one speaks to you.” He questioned in her ear so only she could hear.
Looking up, “These have to be worth a fortune Luke, I do not need something so ostentatious,” she whispered back, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the thought of Luke spending so much money on an engagement ring.
Grinning at her, he swung his glance at the shopkeeper, “May we have a few moments?”
Mr. O’Connor nodded and gave the young couple a moment alone.
Turning her so they were chest to chest, he pulled her close and hugged her, burying his face in her hair, “Vieve, I know you probably don’t know this but I am very wealthy, and when I say very, I mean extremely…just like my brother the Duke of Montrose. Please do not ever worry about the cost of anything; I want you to pick something you love kitten. If you do not like any of these just tell me.” Tipping her head back Luke looked into her eyes and placed a kiss on her forehead, “So my love, do any of these suit your fancy? How about you try a few on?” Turning her back to the ring selection.
Taking a rather large breath, she reached over and ran her hand over the purple velvet and selected the first ring that jumped out at her, a large white diamond circled with brilliant emeralds.
“Here let me.” Taking the stunning ring from her trembling hands, Luke slipped it onto her ring finger with ease. “It matches your eyes Vieve.”
Holding out her hand she watched the diamond catch the sunshine and emit sparkles around the shop, she knew the moment he put it on her finger that this was the one. Looking up at him she smiled and rose up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek, “This is the one.”
Mr. O’Connor appeared around the corner after seeing she had made her selection, “Exquisite taste madam, that is one of my finest creations to date. I have a matching necklace and earing set to match as well, would you be interested?”
Smiling at the older gentlemen, Genevieve replied, “The ring is all for today Mr. O’Connor, thank you, your work is sensational.” She admitted as she admired the priceless gem on her hand and offered him a smile.
“Why don’t you go look at the baubles over there my love, I’ll finish up with Mr. O’Conner while you look.” kissing her temple, he gently guided her towards the counter on the other side of the room.
“Thank you Mr. O’Connor!” she waved as she walked to the other side of the store.
“I’ll take the entire set, bill it to my account,” handing the shop owner his card, he couldn’t help but notice the shop owners delight in making such a huge sale today. The total cost was considerable, but she was worth every pound. He looked forward to buying her an entire vault worth of jewels, anything she wanted, and he would gladly spoil her with. He looked forward to establishing their own family jewels together, something they could pass down to their own children someday.
Since his brother had the ducal jewels at his disposal, Luke would have to start buying his future wife her own set of regal jewels, starting with the set that matched her magnificent ring.
However, he wanted to wait to give the rest of the set at a later date, he loved surprising her. He took the necklace and earrings and placed them in the breast pocket of his jacket.
With his business done with the jeweler, he gathered his fiancée and exited the shop, a light drizzle had started to come down since they entered the store. Hailing a carriage, he helped Vieve in and requested to be taken back to their inn.
As soon as the carriage doors were closed, she pulled the curtain closed and flew into his arms, cradling his jaw she bestowed a heart-melting kiss. Luke quickly wrapped one arm around her slim waist he pulled her into his lap while he slowly ran his other hand up her skirts and over her warm thigh.
“I’ve never owned something so beautiful before Luke, thank you.” She whispered against his lips as passion consumed them.
Knowing they were only blocks from their Inn, he knew they’d arrive at their destination soon, “Anything you want love, I will gladly give you. Everything that I have, everything that I am, is yours.”
Sighing, she rested her head against his shoulder, “I love you far too much Luke. Everything you say speaks right to my heart. I’m not sure I want to return to London, I like being with you like this.”
Snuggling her closer, he closed his eyes and thought of what it would be like when they returned to London. She’d have to go back to her parents, they’d need weeks if not months to plan the wedding, and the thought of sleeping alone was appalling. He wasn’t even sure if he could sleep without her beside him every night.
“Scotland isn’t very far away love, we could always elope.” Luke was genuinely teasing, he knew neither of them would do that to her parents or family.
Pinching him, “Do not tempt me my love, I suppose we will just return to London and wait forever to get married,” kissing his jaw, “Hopefully your brother and Helena will have returned from their honeymoon within the next week and we can hurry things up, I have no need to wait, the sooner the better.” She admitted.
“Deal, Gideon and Helena should be back by the time we sail back to London. I don’t foresee needing to stay in Dublin much longer, the shipment I’m looking for is to arrive in London in the next weeks, I have a few loose ends to tie up and then we can head back home.” Feeling the carriage come to a halt, he smoothed out her skirts and opened the door, stepping out first he held out his hand and snatched her out of the carriage, carrying her over the wet road and to the dry entrance of the inn.
Chapter 12
The sunny afternoon had faded into a wet evening, entering the inn they ordered a meal to be sent to their room. Genevieve and Luke ascended the stairs together, hand in hand; they had spent the entire day traversing all over the Irish city. The fresh air and walking had made Genevieve tired; he noticed she couldn’t stop yawning as they reached their room.
“I have to go out again tonight Vieve, I won’t be long.” Luke mentioned as he unlocked their door and ushered her into the room.
Another large yawn escaped her mouth as she quickly raised a hand to hide it, “As long as you don’t come back with another wound, I’ll just curl up and read my book.” Walking over to their bed, she sat down and kicked off her shoes and flexed her toes.
Walking to his wardrobe Luke took off his jacket that had the velvet lined jewelry box that contained the matching jewels to her ring and placed it on the hook. He still hadn’t worked it out how he was going to give her all of them. He smiled to himself thinking of the options that ran though his mind as he hung his jacket.
Slipping out of his boots he sat down at the desk and looked through several letters that had been left for him at the inn, one w
orried him a great deal. Looking over at his future wife, he watched her for a moment. The letter was from Alastair, in the few days they had been absent from London, all hell had apparently broken loose.
Genevieve’s sister had mistakenly told the wrong set of friends about her sister’s disappearance, and true to London gossip, his absence was noticed along side Genevieve’s. Alastair wrote that her father, the Earl of Chestshire was unable to calm the flames running around town, no one believed Genevieve to be with her great Aunt in the country. Speculation was running rampant about him and his potential love interest. True to typical London fashion, people were speculating why both of them were missing at the same time.
Sitting back in his chair, he imagined all of London must have noticed the growing interest he had taken in her, he certainly hadn’t tried to hide his interest this past week. Ever since he knew she was looking for a husband, his possessiveness would have been apparent to even the least observant person.
Her reputation would take a considerable hit from this adventure if they were caught; thankfully a marriage between the two would silence London. The last thing he wanted to do was have a rushed wedding due to gossip, but he refused to let anyone slander her name. It wasn’t as if he was being forced to marry the woman, even now he debated sailing up to Scotland for a quick wedding at Gretna Green.
Looking over his shoulder he glanced at his now sleeping fiancée, he knew telling Genevieve about the London gossip would only cause her a panic attack. She had gone so long without having a full-blown attack he was resolute he’d protect her from another one. Ultimately he knew she didn’t give a fig what the Ton thought about her, he loved her tenacity.
Deciding to not share Alastair’s news with her just yet, he drafted a quick note back to his friend. He had already sent a letter to Genevieve’s father, the Earl of Chestshire yesterday that should reach him soon.
He wrote quickly, updating Alastair on his attack and the information Lady Jade shared with him regarding Napoleon’s shipment bound for English shores in the coming weeks. He asked Alastair to try to contain the Ton as much as humanly possible, he knew Alastair wouldn’t want Genevieve’s name slandered; he would do what he could.
They had a few more nights here in Ireland before he could return with Genevieve, with time being of the essence, he couldn’t leave now, even if it meant getting her home later to avoid further damage to her reputation. He’d have her home soon, just not for a handful more days.
A quiet knock sounded on the wooden door, scooting his chair back he approached the door opening it slightly to see who was there. A chambermaid was standing in the empty hallway with a tray of hot food and a bottle of wine, taking the tray from her he thanked her and took it back into their room.
He hated to wake up Vieve; she was so tired and obviously required sleep. Sitting down the tray on the table, he scrawled a quick note to her and placed it on the tray.
Vieve,
Running out quickly, please eat.
I’ll be back soon,
Your loving Fiancé,
L.
Changing quickly into his black attire he reserved for his missions, he locked the door behind him and headed out into the dark damp night in search of more clues. The sooner he could wrap up his mission here, the sooner he could get her back to London and stop the gossip.
He was headed back to the docks tonight; his shoulder ached as he walked through the chilly streets. Rubbing his shoulder absentmindedly he ran through the checklist of things he needed to do tonight. The quicker he could accomplish his objectives, the sooner he could get Vieve home and marry her.
Arriving at the dock, he saw a flurry of activity around the docked ships. Many were import sailors offloading their goods, a few were passenger ships. He noticed The Swansong floating in the farthest slip of the dock, with a full crew, all busy prepping the ship.
Taking up a different position tonight, he knew if he was found last night the chances were they’d be looking for him again. He had no interest in taking on another group of men tonight; he just needed to observe the ship’s activity.
Looking around the busy dock, he noticed one of his bulk ships tied up. He had a vast line of ships that sailed around the world, luckily enough; this ship was located in prime position for him to watch The Swansong without being seen. Walking up to his fleet ship, he walked on the deserted ship and took up a position so he could clearly see Rossdale’s men.
Luke was close enough to hear the crew; he sat unnoticed and watched the crew for several hours before seeing Rossdale appear on the deck of The Swansong.
Lord Lucius VanEtter, the Viscount of Rossdale walked aboard the ship with all pomp and circumstance of a king. Dressed like a dandy he removed his gloves as he shook the captain’s hand briskly.
Luke noticed, like normal, that Rossdale traveled with bodyguards. While outside of London, Rossdale always had at least two hired thugs who accompanied him outside of London’s society. The big burly men stood off to the side while he conducted his business with the captain.
“Good eve captain, are we ready to depart?” Rossdale asked with an impatient tone.
“Aye, tide will be in shortly.” The craggy captain replied, as he smoked his pipe.
“I’ll see myself to my cabin, do not disturb me,” ordered Rossdale as he spun on his heel and made his way to his appointed cabin aboard the ship. His two bodyguards followed him as he disappeared down into the ship’s quarters.
Luke sat back; “Fuck!” He said quietly to himself, he wasn’t prepared for Rossdale to make it back to London before him. Panic struck him hard in the chest; he needed to get home as soon as possible. If Rossdale was leaving the busy port of Dublin, there was a damn good reason, and he needed to follow that snake.
Quietly moving, he walked off his empty ship and towards The Irish Thistle, maybe Lady Jade had new information for him, why was Rossdale abandoning Ireland so quickly?
Genevieve awoke to the smell of something delicious taunting her senses, stretching; she looked about the room for Luke. Realizing she was alone, she walked over to the door and made sure it was still locked when she noticed a letter that had been slipped under her door.
Picking it up she could smell the perfume that had been sprayed on the parchment. Trying to ignore her curiosity, she walked over to the table and sat down. She saw Luke’s familiar script on letter next to her meal; she quickly read it and removed the cover to her food.
Overly hungry, she dug in, temporarily forgetting the letter she had picked up from the floor. Reaching over to pour a glass of wine, she spied the sealed letter and flipped it over. It wasn’t address to anyone, shrugging her shoulders, curiosity got the better of her and she quickly opened it.
Captain,
I have something you need, please come to The Irish Thistle with all due haste.
Wear black, you know I love what it does for your eyes.
I can’t wait to sit on your lap again my love, you left too quickly last night. I won’t let you leave quickly this time. I have plans for your hands and mouth my love, I cannot wait to feel you inside me again…hurry to me.
Always yours,
Lady Jade
Dropping the note on the table as if it burnt her fingers, Genevieve shook her head, “No, there is no way….he would never do that to me.” She murmured to herself. Standing up, she quickly began to pace, every scenario possible playing through her mind. With one hand on her heart, she paced the room’s perimeter trying to control her breathing, “It can’t be. He loves me, he would never be unfaithful.”
Looking around the room she walked back over to the letter and read it again.
“The Irish Thistle.” She said out loud throwing it back down as she looked outside; it was pitch black and raining outside. She had no clue how long Luke had been gone for, but her mind was set. She was headed to The Irish Thistle to see for herself.
Rummaging through her wardrobe she changed into a dark purple gown, covering hers
elf with her rich black mink lined cloak. She dressed with determination, as she struggled with the idea of finding Luke in another woman’s arms. She knew something wasn’t right, she couldn’t shake the feeling. Faced with venturing out in a city she didn’t know, panic started to creep into her heart.
Just as she was about to step out of her room, she remembered Luke saying something about her being armed when he found her atop the London harbor office. Quickly turning around, she walked over to his wardrobe in search of a weapon she could wield. Pulling open his drawer, she saw a few pistols and a long silver dagger encased in a leather sheath. Reaching down, she selected the dagger, attaching it to her hip. She had never shot a gun in her life, unfamiliar and uneasy with pistols, she left them behind.
Throwing her hood over her hair she pulled it low enough to cover the majority of her face, fully concealed, she walked out of her room and entered the dim hallway before she could change her mind. The sound of music and a rowdy crowd down below drifted up the stairs as she exited her room. She remembered seeing another set of stairs that avoided the taproom completely. Following the servants stairs, she found they took her out the rear entrance of the inn, and out into the drizzling rain.
Taking a cleansing breath of air, she pinned her shoulders back and raised her jaw, even though she was frightened inside, she was determined to carry herself like a queen.
Shutting the door behind her, she felt the rain pitter patter against her waxed cloak, with absolutely no clue where she was going; she walked toward the city center she remembered today. She would have to ask directions, but knew to pick her person carefully. She may be ignorant of a lot of things, but she was not a fool.
The dim streetlamps guided her way as she walked along the street, many people were still about, and carriages rambled past. The town was alive with activity, yet no one bothered her, people passed on the street with a tip of their hat or a simple nod.