‘I called upon Mr and Mrs Russington yesterday,’ he said, coming closer. ‘I was very circumspect, but they already knew about your—ah—adventure last winter.’ The glint deepened. ‘Mrs Russington was extremely helpful and provided me with a note to give to that man mountain you have guarding the gate, granting me safe passage.’
‘She had no right to do that,’ said Nancy crossly. ‘She should have written to ask my permission first.’
‘And would her missive have received more response than any of mine? Oh, yes,’ he continued, when her eyes flew to his face, ‘it is useless to deny knowledge of them, I paid the messengers handsomely to make sure my letters reached this house and every one of them assured me that they had handed it to a member of this household. Unless your friends here are singularly deceitful, then I am confident at least some of my notes got through.’
Her eyes slid away from him. ‘Yes, my lord, I received them.’
‘Did you read them?’
‘Only the first one.’ They were all bundled up and hidden in the bottom of a drawer. She had intended to burn them, but somehow, such a final act had been beyond her. ‘It was barely three weeks from our first meeting to saying goodbye. A brief incandescence, like a firework. It could never last.’
‘Do you not think we should at least put it to the test?’
She put up her hand, as if to ward off a blow. ‘Please, Gabriel.’
He moved away and for one searing, heart-stopping moment she thought he was leaving. Instead, he began to pace the room.
‘It wasn’t until Lady Craster said it that I realised how much I love you.’ He spoke as if they were discussing something as mundane as the weather. ‘I have never felt this way before, you see, so I did not recognise what it was, at first. Oh, I have been attracted to many women, but it has never lasted. They have never haunted my dreams and never before has their absence made me feel that I had lost a part of myself.’ His perambulations brought him back to Nancy and he reached for her hands. ‘I have gone through the last few months like an automaton, doing my duty during the day, but the nights! Oh, Nancy, the nights have been so cold and lonely without you.’
‘Ah, don’t!’ She did not have the strength to remove her hands from that warm, sustaining grasp, but she turned her face away.
‘Have you not missed me?’ he asked her. ‘Just a little bit? Perhaps you have been happy with your friends here, living this very useful life.’
‘I have been wretched,’ she admitted at last.
With a sigh he pulled her close. His long fingers caught her chin and gently pushed it up so that she was ready to receive his kiss, long and lingering and every bit as arousing as she remembered.
‘Oh, my darling,’ he whispered. ‘I was so afraid that you had forgotten me.’
‘No, no, but I must.’ It was an effort to break free of him and walk to the window. The rain had stopped and she could see the drift of daffodils by the far wall. Their cheery brightness taunted her. ‘Don’t you see, Gabriel? We live in such very different worlds, there can be no future for us. We can never have more than those few snowy weeks at Dell House.’
‘Why not? Unless you do not love me?’ When she did not reply he went on, ‘I wrote to explain, Nancy, I want you for my wife. To live the rest of our lives together.’
Her clasped hands writhed, the knuckles showing white. ‘That is not possible. I am disgraced. You know my story.’
‘You ran away from your home to save yourself and survived by taking honest work. I see no disgrace in that.’
‘Do you not? Society will disagree with you.’
‘Then society may go hang!’
She blinked rapidly, fixing her eyes on the grey horizon.
‘You are very kind, Gabriel, but it is not just my past that will condemn me. My father—the family name—is now a source of ridicule and...and scandal.’
‘Scandals quickly fade, my dear, believe me.’ She heard his hasty stride as he came up behind her. He took her shoulders. ‘If you are worrying about what my family will say, I pray you will not. They will be delighted to see me leg shackled at last and to the daughter of an earl.’ He continued, a laugh in his voice, ‘A woman with thirty thousand pounds to her name, no less.’
‘Not quite,’ she said, momentarily distracted. ‘I have given half of it to the charity, to build another Prospect House.’
‘So much the better,’ he said promptly. ‘I have more than enough for the both of us.’ He turned her towards him and grasped her hands, tucking them against his chest, where she could feel the beating of his heart, steady and sure. ‘I do not need your money, my love. I do not want it, but I think you will feel happier to have something. It will guarantee a modicum of independence for you. We can put it in trust in case you ever wish to leave me.’ She made a half-hearted protest and he tightened his grip. ‘If you think I am offering you a life of unalloyed leisure, madam, let me disabuse you. I have several properties that I have rarely used. They would all benefit from your good management. And if you are determined to write your book, I will not stop you.’
‘Oh, Gabriel.’ She pushed him away, half-laughing, half-crying, and hunted for her handkerchief.
‘What I am trying to say,’ he continued, looking at her with a slight, hesitant smile playing around his mouth, ‘is that I want you, on any terms I can get you, Nancy, my darling. Preferably as my wife, but I will take you as my housekeeper, or my cook, if I must. And if you are determined upon your independence, upon setting yourself up in your own establishment, which Molly Russington tells me is your intention, then perhaps you will let me visit you. As your friend,’ he said humbly. ‘If you will not allow me to be your lover.’
‘Oh, can you not see how impossible that is? Please, Gabriel, stop!’ She mopped her eyes and looked up to find him regarding her, his face so grave and anxious that she went to him, holding out her hands. ‘Oh, my darling, I could not bear to meet with you, knowing that I could not take you in my arms. Or to my bed. That would be the greatest torment possible.’
‘Then marry me, Nancy. Throw in your lot with mine. We will roam the world, share adventures and grow old most disgracefully. Or not, if you prefer a quiet life,’ he added, pulling her close and gently tucking a stray curl behind her ear. ‘What do you say, my love? My father despairs of me making a respectable alliance. You would be the answer to his prayers. He would ensure there is no scandal attached to us. We might live at one of my properties—even Dell House, if you want to be close to the Earl.’
When she shuddered he laughed. ‘No, perhaps not. Well, if you don’t like any of my present houses we will buy something you do like where we can live, raise our beautiful children—’
‘Children!’
‘Yes.’ He grinned down at her. ‘Did I not tell you I want children? Dozens of ’em! And they will run free, causing mayhem in the house, climbing trees and careering over the park on their ponies.’ His eyes softened and he ran the back of his fingers gently over her cheek. ‘They will not be ignored by their parents and left to the care of servants. Nor will they need to amuse themselves in the kitchens. They will join us in our adventures—or, if you prefer, we will stay at home and be models of decorum and respectability.’
Some devil prompted her to say, ‘I prefer the idea of embarking upon a life of adventure.’
‘Then that is what we shall do, my dearest love, just as soon as we are married. Are you set upon a lavish wedding, or would a special licence and a ceremony here, among your friends, suffice? I want to make an honest woman of you. No,’ he said, covering her face in kisses, ‘what I want is to take you to the Continent, to Paris, Rome, Naples, and in every city I want to make love to you. I want to strip every piece of clothing from your body and have you naked in my bed the whole of the night. The day, too, if you wish.’
‘I think it must be a special licence,’ she told h
im, pulling his hand down and pressing it against the front of her gown.
There was no doubting the delight that shone in his eyes when he realised what she was telling him.
‘A baby! You are sure?’
She nodded, blushing and laughing. ‘Yes, I am sure. One of your wishes is already coming true. But that is not the only reason we should be married quickly,’ she murmured, reaching up to guide his mouth back to hers, ‘for I want all those other things, too, and as soon as possible!’
Epilogue
September 1817
Nancy was reclining on a daybed in the morning room. She had just returned from the nursery where she had fed young Master Gabriel and left him sleeping peacefully under the watchful eye of his nurse.
She was reading a periodical, which she waved at Gabriel when he walked into the room.
‘My love, have you seen what is published in La Belle Assemblée?’
He leaned down to kiss her then sat by her feet. ‘What does it say?’
Nancy began to read.
‘“Births: At Ravenshaw Lodge, Hampshire, to Lady Ann Ravenshaw, a son. This follows the announcement earlier this year in the Compton Parva Courier, reprinted here for the benefit of our Readers, of the marriage of Sir Gabriel Ravenshaw, Bart., recently elevated to his present rank for his services to the Crown, to Lady Ann Chartell, daughter of the Ninth Earl of Masserton, at All Souls’ Church, Compton Parva.
“In the absence of the lady’s father, the bride was given away by Mr Charles Russington before a packed congregation, which included the groom’s parents, the Marquess and Marchioness of Baxenden, and Lord Stanford, Sir Gabriel’s elder brother. Among other guests of note were Lady Aspern, sister of the new Lady Ravenshaw, and her husband Lord Aspern.”’
She gave a sigh.
‘I cannot say I like our business being broadcast quite so publicly. The mention of our wedding makes it clear to everyone that I was with child when you married me.’
‘But the mention of my parents and brother makes it equally clear that the match met with approval. A nine-day wonder, my dear. It will be forgotten quickly enough.’ Gabriel took the paper from her. ‘But you may have to get used to being in the public eye, especially when your book on Household Management is published in the spring.’
‘But Mr Murray promised I would not be named.’
‘And you will not be. It will merely read, “By a Lady” and Murray will only tell one or two people, in the strictest confidence, of course.’
‘And within days it will be all over town! How tiresome!’
‘Not at all.’ He dropped the paper on the floor and pulled her towards him. ‘I shall be very proud to be married to a celebrated author.’
For the next few minutes Nancy forgot everything but the pleasure of being thoroughly kissed by an expert. When the kiss ended, he settled her more comfortably against him and they sat in silence for a while, listening to the birdsong outside the window.
At last she said, in a small voice, ‘It might be a disaster. Cooks will dislike my recipes and housewives take offence at my advice.’
‘Or it may be so successful that Murray demands another book. However, I have a solution. We can begin our tour of the Continent a little sooner that we planned. We shall set off in the spring. Baby Gabriel and his nurse can travel with us. In fact, he may have a whole entourage of his own, if you wish it. I confess I am impatient to take you to Paris and Rome, as I promised.’ He pulled her on to his lap, murmuring into her ear, ‘And to do all those other things I mentioned at the time.’
Nancy shivered with delight. She slipped her arms about his neck and said, with wicked innocence, ‘I have forgotten just what you promised me, Gabriel. Something about removing all my clothes...’
With a growl, he tightened his hold on her.
‘Then let me remind you,’ he muttered. ‘My wilful, wanton wife!’
* * *
If you enjoyed this story
read the other books in the
Saved from Disgrace miniseries
The Ton’s Most Notorious Rake
Beauty and the Brooding Lord
And be sure to check out these
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by Sarah Mallory
The Duke’s Secret Heir
Pursued for the Viscount’s Vengeance
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Secrets of a Highland Warrior
by Nicole Locke
Chapter One
Spring 1293
‘I don’t like this.’ Rory surveyed the landscape surrounding him and his men. Tall branches bending slightly in the spring breeze, birds calling softly, the stream mere horse-lengths in front of them, rushing past carrying winter’s melting ice.
Around them was nothing else but rolling fields and a wide sparse treeline that had been manned and maintained to remain that way since before he was born. Enough trees for game, but not enough for enemies to hide behind.
Not that there should be enemies while they stood on Lochmore land, but across that stream...
‘Perhaps they are waiting over that ridge.’ Paiden sidled his horse alongside his and whispered low.
Rory didn’t turn his attention to the other men. They had maintained their position and were far enough behind to not hear the words that Paiden inevitably desired to share. Of the same age, if different temperament, Paiden had been at his side for as long as he had memory.
Paiden had been talking for that long as well and Rory was used to his friend’s humour even in the direst circumstances. Now, on this mildest of mornings, the circumstances weren’t dire, but they weren’t safe either. His men, well back from the stream few ventured near, didn’t need to hear words to comprehend their predictament.
‘How likely is it that a garrison of McCrieffs and their horses are crouching behind a hill no taller than a couple of rabbits could breach?’
‘Oh, as likely as toothless Joan is capable of eating overcooked venison.’
Not likely at all. There was no one to greet him and his men this fine spring day. Twenty of them in all here, one hundred more waiting at the castle should he make the agreed signal. Twenty was enough of a force for the expected confrontation, but not enough to provoke a first strike. If the McCrieffs wanted a fight, then there were enough to defend the Lochmore claim. If they wanted to negotiate, the numbers weren’t so in
timidating that the possibility was there as well.
Months had gone into the planning of this day. A fortnight spent on discussing the number of men, the weaponry, the day and the hour. Rory was prepared for every likely scenario when it came to this day. The nothingness they faced wasn’t any scenario at all.
Which was why they stayed on the Lochmore side of the stream. Across the water was the beginning of McCrieff land. Or what was McCrieff land. It was now his by royal decree.
After his clan supported the crowning of John Balliol last November, the English King Edward had granted the Lochmores part of the McCrieff lands. The ones that bordered along the stream that for years had separated the two clans. The two enemies.
The stream had been a firm divide between the clans and a well-welcomed one. Owning the land, however, gave the Lochmores even more pleasure. To take by any means something precious from the McCrieffs was worth any price paid.
But months had passed since Edward’s decree. During that time the McCrieffs ignored Edward’s law and the Lochmore Chief’s messages.
So it came down to this day, to this hour to fight, to battle. Except all that was before him was the rising of the morning sun and the blades of plentiful grass the horses fed from.
Certainly, the beauty of the land was enough to please any Highlander, but the landscape wasn’t what he intended or expected to see right now.
The granting of this land wasn’t at the McCrieffs’ consent. In fact, this very land had been bitterly fought over for years. Everything between them had been fought over for years.
Also, being Highlanders, it wasn’t expected that the McCrieffs would agree to an English king’s decree. After all, what right did he have over a Highlander’s lands?
The Highborn Housekeeper (Saved From Disgrace Book 3) Page 22