Bride Enchanted

by Edith Layton

  Today she wore a russet gown, the color of the turning leaves. With the breeze in her curls, and her light step as they walked, she reminded him of some wild creature that had just stepped out of the wood. It made him feel even more comfortable.

  “And it’s a beautiful autumn,” she persisted. “There’s been little rain and I think the good weather will hold at least until winter. When winter comes, everyone in London goes to his or her own homes for Christmas, or they go off to huge Christmas parties at country estates. I don’t think I want to go to all that trouble, what with guests staying over for twelve nights, and Yule logs, and caroling. And gathering the holly and the ivy to decorate the place, giving gifts to everyone, feasting every night, and arranging carriages to take the guests to and from church. Just listing the things to do exhausts me. Do you want to go to such lengths?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “Are you cold?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

  “Why should you say that?”

  “I just saw you shiver,” she said.

  He smiled, she watched his every move. It was flattering, and dangerous. Perhaps she did need diversion. “I think a party held on All Hallows Eve would be pleasant,” he mused. “That’s coming up soon. We could decorate the Hall and feast and have games, and yet keep our London guests happy for only three or four days, not twelve nights. It isn’t customary to stay so long for that kind of party anyway. Nor would anyone want to go to anything but a churchyard, and if they did, there’d be no carriages to arrange because they could walk to that. The guests I’d invite live closer by too, so they wouldn’t stay overnight in any event. Would you like that?”

  “Yes!” she said excitedly. “What a good idea. We could have our guests bring costumes, like the night when we agreed to marry,” she said, as he’d hoped she would.

  “And will you come as a ragged kitchen maid this time?”

  “No,” she said seriously. “I’d like to come as your queen.”

  He repressed a shiver. She was at times so close to the truth without knowing it that he wondered if she really knew more than he thought.

  “So you shall be my queen,” he said. “Now, I think you were right. It’s early autumn, and I never get sick. But the chill of the day does seem to be getting to me. I must be coming down with something. Or it’s just that you and your insatiable demands have worn me out,” he said, just to see her blush. “Shall we go in and have some tea, sit by the fire and warm up while we plan our gala?”

  She grinned up at him. “I wish I could warm you completely, no matter the consequences. But soon, in a few days, I can.”

  He took her hand in his. “Just seeing you happy warms me, Eve.”

  “Does it? Then you’ll never be cold again,” she said.

  He wished that were true, but was too wise to say anything, and far too wise to believe it.

  “Aubrey,” Eve said. “There’s a door we can’t open.”

  He looked up from the papers he was studying.

  She was standing in the doorway to his study, her hair hidden under a kerchief, an apron tied around her waist. She looked like the ragged Ella of the Cinders she had played those months ago. Mrs. Hood, his housekeeper, stood by her side.

  “I see. And you want to open it to find my beheaded wives?” he asked.

  “No. I wouldn’t think you’d be so sloppy,” she said impatiently. “I want to open it because we’re clearing house for guests.”

  “Where is the door?” he asked, laying down his pen,

  “In the back of the house, near the kitchens. If it opened, I think it would be a room that exited to the kitchen gardens. But I can’t be sure. There’s no window on the outside there. We shoved and pried, and Mrs. Hood went through all her keys, but the door won’t open.”

  He stretched. “I’ll come along and see, but it’s probably just another one of the rooms that my ancestors bricked over.” He laughed. “Your eyes will fall out if they open any wider. I’m sorry to disappoint you, Eve, my love, but there’s no pirate treasure or skeletons behind those doors. They were either priest’s holes that were closed after the burning of priests stopped being such a sport, or simply rooms my ancestors no longer had any use for. When there’s a house this big, it’s easier to close a room than to tear down part of the house to be rid of it. Some of my forebears were as miserly as some were reckless spenders. And it’s more amusing to add new spaces than to recover lost ones. We’ve doors to nowhere all over the place. But let’s go see this one. It may be just a stuck doorjamb.”

  He nodded to his aged housekeeper, and followed her and Eve to the back of the long house. They stopped in a corridor in front of a dark wooden door that fit seamlessly into the wall. Only a latch on its side showed that it had ever been a door.

  He nodded. “As I thought. It goes nowhere, and never opens. The others in the house are mostly unnoticeable because they don’t have latches. They’ve been painted or papered over. But not here, and that was odd. I used to dream about what might be behind this one when I was a boy. It enlivened my life quite a bit.”

  “I thought you grew up in Italy,” Eve said, her forehead wrinkling.

  The hallway was suddenly silent. Mrs. Hood stared at the floor.

  “So I did,” Aubrey said easily. “My father told me about this door, because he’d tried to open it when he was a boy. I dreamed about it so much that I swore the first thing I’d do when I came here would be to hack down that door. But I only found others like it. And then I found you, and the thought went out of my mind. Do you want me to call in workmen now so we can have a peek? I suspect all we’ll find is a brick wall behind it, and when we knock those down, we’ll only have an empty room.”

  “Lord, no!” Eve said. “I don’t want to start any new work now. I just want to get rooms cleared for our guests. Oh, this will be such fun!”

  “So it will,” he promised. “I was just writing out my invitations. Mrs. Hood, Far Isle will have more guests than it’s had in many a year. You’ll need more help than we have. Ask at the stables, and ask the cook, and then get some of the villagers to come work here for a few weeks.”

  Mrs. Hood lowered her gaze.

  “I understand, of course,” he went on in a smoother voice, “it’s a busy time of year for them, getting the slaughter done, killing the cattle and hogs that wouldn’t get through the winter, bringing in the last of the crops and so on. So I will, of course, pay very well. I’ll pay everyone double for their trouble.”

  The housekeeper looked up. “Aye,” she said. “For that, they’ll do it.”

  “I thought so,” he said. “That will include you and the staff, of course. Guests are more trouble than you bargained for. Now, Eve. Have you finished your guest list? How many may we expect?”

  “I don’t know how many to expect, because you never know who’s coming. I know Sherry will come, but my father won’t. He’s not much of a one for traveling, and less of a fellow for parties. He’s very happy to be home in the countryside again at his own manor, and I don’t think anything would budge him—except for Christmas, and then only because he could stay for a fortnight. But everyone else is curious, both relatives and friends. You were a sensation in London, Aubrey. Still, we’ll be competing with parties in London at that time of year. So, I’d think about two dozen.”

  “I’ll only have a handful of guests, if that. My Italian family and my friends from abroad probably won’t come. But I still have a few here in England.”

  “They haven’t been here in many a year, sir,” Mrs. Hood said repressively. “Not a guest, nor family nor friend, not since I come here,” she added. “If you’ll pardon my saying so.”

  “Oh, some will come, if only in disguise,” he said. “They’re shy, but as curious as anyone. More so, perhaps.”

  She blanched. “I’ve got to see to dinner, ma’am,” she said to Eve. She ducked a curtsy, and hurriedly left them.

  “That’s peculiar,” Eve said, looking after he
r. “She looks worried. Is she afraid of your friends or anyone in your family?”

  “Well, you may as well know now, as later,” he said on a resigned sigh. “The local folk are superstitious. Far Isle was built on what was thought to be a fairy mound, eons ago. At any rate, for years it was thought to be a place for the gatherings of the elder folk of all kinds. The stuff legends are made of. The hill probably started out as an ancient burial barrow, or such. Then myths were laid over it. At any rate, it was considered a place of primeval magic. Often such places were made into holy sites, like martyr’s holy wells, churchyards and such, in order to subdue pagan practices of worship. But the church never claimed this place. It may be why my ancestors never changed the nature of it either.

  “And since it’s been unoccupied for so long a stretch of time, since I was born,” he said, “I suspect the locals have some fantastic tales brewing again about Far Isle and its master. What else is there to do here in the countryside but gossip? If there’s no gossip, then they make some up. Disregard it.”

  “I thought fairies were good luck,” Eve said. “When I was a little girl I was told that when the lawns showed a circle of mushrooms, that meant fairies danced there in the night.”

  He shook his head. “Little pretty people floating about with wands and gossamer wings? No, in the old days, fairies were thought to be human size and cold-hearted, and they were much feared. It was said they could be cruel. Remember A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Everyone tried to clear out of the forest by nightfall. Shakespeare and his audience thought the fairy folk were powerful creatures with great magic, but no charity, and no concern for anyone but themselves. Don’t worry. We’ll fill this place with human laughter, that’s enough to chase all evil spirits away.”

  “I thought that lured them,” Eve said.

  “Ah, now I’ve frightened you. Want to go to London instead?”

  “Never,” she said. “This is my house now. I won’t let fairies or brownies or goblins or ghosts chase me away.”

  “Hush,” he said, laughing. “Don’t tempt fate.”

  “You’re just saying that so I stay close to you in the night.”

  “You need fear in order to do that? Where have I failed you?”

  She came into his arms, and kissed him. “You?” she said when she could speak again. “Nowhere. Never.”

  “Stay close to me, Eve,” he said, holding her tight, his voice suddenly dark and serious. “Always, at all times, here, and there or anywhere. I will never let anything harm you.”

  “Nor will I let anything harm you,” she said.

  He laughed. “My brave Eve. Thank you. I know. That just exactly why I married you.”

  And each having spoken the truth, they laughed, and walked away together, discussing the guests, and menus, and the coming house party.

  Chapter 9

  Sheridan, for once, was speechless. He looked up and down and through the rooms as he paced through Far Isle with Eve, and said nothing.

  “Well?” she finally said, stopping in a side parlor to look up at him.

  “Well, you’ve landed on your feet,” he said.

  “What a vulgar expression,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

  “Didn’t used to think so before you got so grand,” he commented. “But lord! My brother-in-law has got everything: looks, funds, and a family estate to beat all—and you,” he added sheepishly. “Missed you, Evie, I did, really.”

  They hugged briefly, and then grinned at each other. Eve always wondered how her parents had produced two children so unalike. Sherry was handsome in coltish fashion; tall and lanky. Gray-eyed and with an aquiline nose, he had his sister’s curls, ruthlessly cut short. But otherwise, it would be difficult to tell they were siblings. Sheridan was also happy-go-lucky, although he had a kind heart, he never took anything too much to heart. But then, Eve thought, he was still young. As tall as he’d grown, Eve never thought of him as anything but her baby brother.

  “This place is in the back of nowhere,” he commented now, “but it’s a gem. Don’t you get lonely, though?”

  “Well, I didn’t,” she said honestly. “I was on my honeymoon most of this time, you know.”

  He flushed.

  “And so I haven’t had time to meet the local ladies yet,” she went on, to spare his blushes. “Nor have I yearned to, to tell the truth. Aubrey takes up my time, and very nicely, thank you. But now that everyone’s coming to our party, I guess I do feel as though I’d forgotten what the rest of the world was like. I’m so glad you came, Sherry.”

  “Wouldn’t have missed it.” His brow furrowed. “You’re not trying to get me leg shackled, are you? You haven’t got some female ready to pounce on me, do you?”

  “Sherry,” she said impatiently. “You’re only nineteen. Far too young for marriage.”

  “Well, that’s a relief,” he said. “But sometimes newlyweds can’t rest until they get the rest of the world in the same state.”

  “Not me,” she said. “Anyway, I haven’t yet met the woman I think deserves you.”

  He laughed. “Good old Evie. I can take that two ways, can’t I?”

  She grinned.

  “Sheridan,” Aubrey said as he came into the salon. “Greetings and welcome. I wondered where you were?”

  “Lud!” Sherry said, taking his proffered hand and eyeing him. “Marriage suits you, Aubrey. You’re handsomer than ever.”

  “More handsome,” Eve corrected him.

  “Thank you both,” Aubrey said, bowing.

  Eve made a face at him.

  “Say, any chance we can go riding?” he asked Aubrey. “I saw your stables. Looks like you’ve got some real beauties there.”

  “I do, and we will, if you like,” Aubrey said. “You didn’t have to pour a bucket of butter over me, I’d have asked you if you hadn’t asked me.”

  “Me? Flattering just so I could get a ride?” Sherrie asked. “Ha. As if flattery would move you. Bet you’ve heard every compliment in the book. But I’d like a go to shake off the dust of that coach ride here.”

  “Good. Do you want to join us?” Aubrey asked Eve.

  “I do but I can’t. My old friend Lucinda and her sister are due here soon, and I want to spend some time with them. Oh, Aubrey, this was such a good idea! We’ll have such a wonderful time. I can’t wait for the actual masquerade, but I also want lots of time before it so I can talk to my old friends again, and even pass an hour or two with this scapegrace here.”

  “There’s time for everything,” Aubrey said. “And if he wishes, this scapegrace here can stay on after the ball for as long as he likes.”

  “Well, I don’t know,” Sherry said. “Haven’t seen what your cook can do yet.”

  “Oh, wonderful!” Eve said, ignoring his jest. “But now, I have to be sure Lucinda’s bedchamber is ready for her. See you both later. Have fun.” She stood on her toes and kissed Aubrey’s cheek. Then she dashed away down the hall.

  “She is something, isn’t she?” Sherry said, watching her leave. “Not in the common way or the usual style, but something wonderful, even so. I’m glad you saw that, Aubrey. I’m glad she’s so happy. She means a lot to me.”

  “Anyone can see that,” Aubrey said. “Never worry about her, I’ll always be sure she’s content. Now, shall we ride before any more guests get here and ruin our fun?”

  “I thought you said you weren’t laying traps for me with your friends,” Sherry told Eve later that night.

  “Mmm?” Eve said. They were slowly pacing along the paths in the back garden, after dinner. It was late. The other guests who had arrived were variously preparing for bed, still gossiping in the salon, or playing billiards with their host. Eve’s duties were done and she was sharing some time with her brother. The night was so dark, the stars so far, and the moon such a sliver that it was hard for her to even see her brother at her side. Her own gown looked like a pink aura floating around her. Sherry, in customary black evening dress, was a shadow by her side.
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  “Your friend Lucinda’s sister fluttered her eyelashes so much at me during dinner that I thought she might actually leave the table, rise up, and fly,” Sherry said.

  “I had to have her here, Sherry. There must be even numbers at the table, and you’re a bachelor. And Grace is lovely.

  “Never said no,” he protested. “She’s a pretty little thing, and a charmer too. But I don’t want to marry yet. And she’s the kind you have to marry. And that Turner woman! Has she run through all the married males in London by now, that she even considers me? As if I would! I don’t mind being considered a rake, in fact, might do me a world of good, come to think of it. But an adulterer? I think not. At least,” he said conscientiously, “not for the likes of her.”

  “I didn’t notice.”

  “You don’t notice anyone but your Aubrey.”

  She turned to look at him. “You think I’m neglecting you?”

  “No, you’re true blue, Evie. You are happy here, with him, and all?” he asked.

  “Yes, and yes, here and with him, and all.”

  “You’d tell me if you weren’t?”

  “First thing,” she promised. “Why? Is there anything you find amiss?”

  He patted her hand where it lay on his arm. “With Aubrey? Nothing. Except he’s so damned good-looking makes a fellow feel like a goblin next to him. But I have to say he don’t seem to notice, though he must. He’s a prime one, and no mistake.”

  They walked on in silence. They’d already discussed their father’s state of health, and the latest London gossip, all of which was, they agreed, much the same as it had been when Eve had left. Now they walked in a comfortable silence. Until Sherry shivered.

  “Lord!” he suddenly said, “But it’s night out here.”

  Eve gave him a quizzical smile. “It is night. What did you have to drink this evening?”

  “That’s not what I mean,” he said, raising his shoulders as though to deflect a blow. “It’s darker than most nights. The stars are always closer in the countryside, but here, everything is. I don’t know. It’s hard to say. Your new home is a smashing place, everyone’s all envy. But it’s mysterious. It’s almost as if you turn a corner, you can get lost forever, inside or out. Especially outside. Or something like that. Ah, I’m no good at words. Don’t you feel it?”