“Will other men think the same?”
“Other men do not believe Charlotte.”
“But they might. I mean, they would not admit it if they did, would they?”
“Probably not, but I will not let anything happen to you.”
“How will you prevent it?”
He looked long into her eyes and then lowered his gaze. “I shall find a way.” Hannish turned around and abruptly left the library.
*
Mrs. Olivia MacGreagor was not happy when she heard the ancient doorbell ring in the ancient Scottish cottage she was forced to live in. She sat at her dressing table in the horrid bedroom of her husband’s horrid parents and stared at her face in the mirror.
“Lady Bayington to see you, Mrs.,” said the butler.
Olivia cringed. “Send her away, I am busy.”
The butler, who also served as footman and gardener rolled his eyes. “So am I.”
She gripped her new brush tightly, slowly turned to face him and glared. “I shall send you away if you disobey me.”
“You cannot. I work for the duke, not for you.” With that, the butler left the room.
Olivia went back to staring at her reflection in the mirror. She waited for the front door to open and close, but when it didn’t, it was obvious her guest was still waiting. With no choice, she put on her fake smile and went to the parlor. “My dear, Lady Bayington, how good of you to come.”
Lady Bayington was expensively dressed, as always, and adorned with enough jewels to be the envy of all of London. She sat on the edge of a chair that was anything but new, displaying a fake smile of her own. “I’ve a devil of a time finding you, I do not mind saying. How are you, my dear?”
“Very well, thank you.”
“My, but this is a cozy cottage.”
“Lady Bayington, do get to the point of your visit. We have not been the best of friends lately, and I admit I am curious as to why you visit me now.”
“We had a disagreement years ago, that is all. It does not mean we cannot be friends now. Who else knows you as well as I?”
“Then answer my question.”
“Very well, I have come to ask if it is true; has Hannish petitioned for a divorce?”
“Divorce? He certainly said no such a thing to me. What have you heard?”
“Only that he has no plans to return to Scotland and I hardly think you can have a marriage living in two different countries.”
Olivia finally sat in a chair opposite her guest. “It is impossible. He left me to wonder of him for three years complete. Now, I am not married in the traditional sense, nor will he ever set me free. Hannish does not condone divorce.”
“How very cruel of him.”
Olivia reached for the bell and rang for tea. “He is the cruelest of all men and has cut back my allowance so severely, I...do you know I am allowed a carriage but once a week? I can’t think what is to become of me and all because I do not want to live in America.”
Lady Bayington had always found Olivia’s ability to twist every detail to suit her own desires fascinating, and could not help a slight grin. “I do not suppose you will be attending the balls for the rest of the season.”
“How can I, the invitations go to the Duke. On the other hand, that is my one delight. Can you not imagine how our society will be, once they see how plain and ordinary the new duchess is compared to me?”
“They will miss you madly, I am sure.”
The tea didn’t come, so Olivia rang the bell again and sighed. “I shall miss them madly too. There is not a thing I can do about it now, I suppose.”
“Will Hannish come, do you think, when he is finished punishing you?”
Olivia frowned. “He will not come. I am to live in solitude for the remainder of my life.”
“Olivia, darling, when have you ever lived in solitude? I know you too well. You will manage to live a very long, full life with or without Hannish MacGreagor.”
“Perhaps, but he opens many doors I alone cannot open.” She scooted back in the chair and crossed her legs. “I must do something about my dreadful circumstances, but what?”
“You might have told him the truth in the beginning, just as I did with my husband. He might have forgiven you.”
“It is far too late to regret that now,” said Olivia.
“Suppose you agree to live in America?”
At last, the butler, who was now the footman, brought a tea tray and served both women. He moved too slowly, which irritated Olivia, but she waited until he was gone before she spoke again. “I have thought of going back to America, but my dear, Hannish has spent most of his fortune on that monotonous mansion. He has but twenty-thousand pounds left. Besides, I no longer have the funds to go back. I could not bear another appalling voyage across the ocean, and the trains, Lady Bayington, you cannot imagine the drudgery of day and night on a train.”
“You would go to America if you had the funds?”
Olivia sipped her tea. “Hannish still loves me, I think. I hoped to be with child so he would have to come back to Scotland, but he would not and it did not happen otherwise either. I did my best, but...”
“He denied you? What man could refuse, no other man ever has. My dear, there must be someone else.”
“He admitted he has been unfaithful, but they were ladies of the evening. He could never love a woman like that, he is too proud. I forgave him, naturally, he is a man after all and it had been three years.”
“Olivia, what are you not telling me?”
Olivia’s expression was sincere when she answered, “Nothing, I swear it.”
Lady Bayington decided to let the obvious lie pass. “What will you do now?”
“What can I do? I cannot stay here much longer.”
“You will do what you always do, I suppose.”
“Lady Bayington, you’d not be willing to loan me a few pounds, would you?”
“I might. You have been very good at keeping our secret out of London society.”
Olivia smiled finally, “I do believe it is the only pledge I have ever truly kept.”
“Indeed it is. Therefore, you deserve to be quite generously rewarded.” She opened her small handbag and withdrew a roll of bills.
*
That night, Lady Bayington went to the room in her castle, where she enjoyed writing her many letters. She got out a clean sheet of monogrammed paper, found her fountain pen and began:
Your Grace,
Lord Bayington and I agree, as we are most fond of both you and your brother, and can maintain our silence no longer. There is something you should know about the woman Hannish married. Olivia and I were born in the Shetland Islands, more specifically Scalloway, and played together as children. It was apparent early on that Olivia...”
*
The next big event on the MacGreagor calendar was the town picnic and everyone was excited. In the evenings, when all the newly arrived furnishings were put away and the work was done, Alistair taught dancing while the quartet practiced their songs.
New straw top hats were in order for the quartet and matching blue and white striped jackets, vests, dark blue knickerbockers, white knee-high stockings and low shoes. Matching red four-in-hand ascot neckties finished off their casual, yet impressive look.
For Sassy and Cathleen, who still had no casual clothing, Hannish hired a dressmaker in town to fashion white, high-collar shirtwaists, with plenty of lace for decoration, and long black floor-length skirts. His initial order, at the urging of McKenna, soon became new outfits for all the women who wanted them, if the seamstress could manage to get them made in time. Donnel and Blanka were not impressed with the new fashions, choosing instead to wear the traveling clothing they were comfortable in—old-fashioned though they may be. Naturally, the women practiced the newest hairstyle, which consisted of sweeping long hair upward in the back, twisting it and then letting a large curl adorn their foreheads.
For Hannish, outfitting his employees mean
t a lot more shopping, clothing fittings, the purchase of appropriate broaches, shoes, hats and a multitude of hairpins. The younger men were eager to take the ladies, and he suspected one or more of them had made the acquaintance of a young lady in town. Occasionally, he went with them and it was apparent more than one of his footmen had a keen eye for a pretty woman. Keith, he noticed, still gave Sassy all his attention, carried her packages and was the first to help her in and out of the wagon. If she was becoming fond of Keith, she did not show it.
McKenna went to the Whitfield’s regularly, where the weekly gathering was becoming more of an orphanage committee than a sewing circle. The phone rang constantly and Abigail managed to drop by at least twice a week at teatime. She came to report all the news, especially that concerning Charles, who regularly called asking for more money. She feared he would marry one moment and the next, feared he would not. Unless he was gambling, she reasoned, no man needed the kind of funds Charles requested without a woman to please.
Not once did Abigail leave without saying, “And do not forget, McKenna, to ask your cooks to make all the wonderful cakes and pies they can, so we may sell them and make money for the orphanage. And, see that all the unmarried women have a box lunch for two. The box goes to the highest bidder and the lady must agree to share her lunch with the man who buys it.”
“I will not forget, Abigail, I promise.”
Even with the merriment all around him, Hannish often sat in his study and aimlessly stared out the window. The world around him seemed to be spinning, while his life was at a standstill. Barring a miracle, it would be for all eternity. Self-pity was not his style, but he had his moments the same as anyone.
It was upon one of those occasions that he saw something that alarmed him. The sight of it made him stand up and walk to the window for a better look. He was certain the man in the rose garden was Alistair, but who was the woman he was kissing? Hannish held his breath and watched until Alistair released her and a grinning Sarah moved into view. Hannish let a relieved breath leave his lips and went back to his accounting books. A moment later, he covered his face with both hands. “I am going daft,” he whispered.
*
Thankfully, the exhausted dressmaker finished right on time and at last, the day of the picnic arrived. The women, attired in their new clothing, were a sight to behold as they came down the formal staircase to receive the admiration of the men. Each wore a colorful hat decorated with ribbons or artificial flowers – all except an irked Sassy, who held her bright orange, feather trimmed hat in her hand. “’Twill not stay on,” she announced when she reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Tar would do it,” Prescot teased. He offered one arm to Donnel and the other to Blanka.
“Or flower and water paste, if I had the time to make it,” Halen suggested, taking the arm Ronan offered her.
“Oh, who cares?” Sassy said, tossing her hat away.
“I care,” McKenna said, quickly picking it up. “‘Tis not proper for a lady to be without a hat. Sit beside me in the wagon and I shall fix it.”
“In that case,” said Hannish, “Prescot, put Donnel and Blanka in the carriage.” Just then, he thought of something. “Miss Leesil and Miss Cathleen, should anyone ask, what last name have you chosen?”
“Covington,” both answered at once.
Hannish smiled. “Good. Sometime soon, we shall see a judge about making it legal.”
“Oh sister,” Blanka said to Donnel, “They are girls. When they marry the name will be lost forever.”
Donnel nodded. “True sister, we need a boy to carry it on.”
“We can give it to one of our orphans,” McKenna suggested.
“Oh yes, do,” said Donnel, “Give it to all the little boys without last names.”
McKenna leaned close to Hannish and whispered, “I believe we have a name for our orphanage now. We shall call it, ‘The Covington Home for Children.’”
*
The men sat on the fold-down bench on one side of the wagon and the women, complete with box lunches in their laps, sat on the other. As soon as they were all seated and the wagon began to move, McKenna started to pin Sassy’s hat on while they all sang, Wait for the wagon. She finished, settled back in her seat just as the song ended and loudly said, “Brother, I am not fond of this box lunch idea. I do not wish to eat my lunch with a stranger. Therefore, I am counting on you to buy it.”
“I cannae,” he said, leaning forward a little.
“And why not?”
“Because I’d not like to keep you from meeting the man of your dreams.”
McKenna frowned. “Alistair, I shall give you twenty pounds if you buy mine.”
Alistair winked at Sarah. “Do you see that box lunch in Sarah’s lap? I had Jessie put a big slice of cake in it just for me.”
McKenna glared at Alistair for a moment, and then turned her attention to the next man she thought would be more willing. “Prescot?”
Just as Prescot began to answer, Millie spoke up, “I believe Prescot might buy mine...if he is wise, Miss McKenna.”
Everyone laughed when Prescot clutched his chest. “Help, Mr. Hannish, I think cupid just shot me in the heart.”
McKenna waited for the laughter to die down and then moaned, “Will no man here buy mine?” She was about to plead again when Cathleen interrupted.
“Must we, Miss McKenna? Sassy and I would rather not have a stranger buy our lunch. Please do not make us.”
“No one will force you, Cathleen,” said Hannish. “You and Sassy can share a lunch and I’ll take the other one. Have we a bargain?”
“We do,” said a relieved Cathleen.
“Maybe next year,” McKenna soothed. “You are too young yet to be wantin’ a husband.”
Sassy’s eyes widened. “‘Tis for findin’ a husband?”
“What did you think it was for?” a frustrated Keith asked.
Sassy glared at him. “I dinna think it was to put a woman on display so as a man might want her. I dinna think that at all.”
“She has a point,” said McKenna. “Hannish, you shall share my lunch with me, and ‘twill not cost a penny. Keith can have Cathleen’s lunch, unless he can buy one of his own.”
Dugan was completely confused. “Are you sayin’, if a lad does not bid high enough, he might go hungry?”
“It means exactly that,” said Shepard. “What is a lunch, and a pretty woman to eat it with, worth to you? I’ve my eye on a little thing called, Twyla, and she is worth half a month’s pay, maybe more.”
“You Americans have a funny way of courtin’,” Egan said. “In Scotland, we just ask them to take a walk or a ride in our buggy.”
“We do that here too,” said Prescot, “when a man has a buggy to take her in.”
“You wish to use the carriage?” Hannish asked. “Why did you not say so?”
Prescot rolled his eyes. “Because I did not think Millie would go with me until just now.”
Millie glared at Prescot, “I been tryin’ to get your attention since the day I came. You are a stubborn man, and blind as a bat, you are.”
Prescot pretended to look stern. “Woman, we shall discuss this over lunch, providing you do not cost me a fortune. You’re a might too pretty, if you ask me.”
Millie blushed. “Thank you...I think.”
Hannish elbowed Prescot. “I’ve a few dollars I can lend.”
“I am saved,” Prescot muttered.
*
The 600 cottonwood trees, planted several years ago in Acacia Park, had survived well even during the years when rain was not so plentiful. The grass looked like a lush green carpet and there were plenty of benches where the older ladies and gentlemen could rest when they got tired. Donnel and Blanka were pleased to see those and made themselves comfortable right away.
A pavilion offered a place for the musicians, who were already playing lively music by the time the MacGreagors arrived. A large, round section of smooth cement in front of the pavilion wou
ld be used for dancing later in the evening. Dartboards, horseshoe throws and shuffleboard were favorite daytime activities.
Tables were filled with glittering jewelry, decorated hair combs, silk scarves and treats of every imaginable kind – all for sale. Jugglers juggled three and four items at once, while costumed men on stilts made their way through the crowd and back again. Children chased each other, older boys tried to get a baseball game going and the men did what they always do – talk about business. Before long, Hannish found himself deep in a discussion with Mr. Mabs and Mr. Goodwin.
“Land is cheap on the other side of the mountains,” said Mr. Mabs. “I heard of a man who bought 80 acres of prime meadow on the western slope for only $250.00.”
“You don’t say,” said Mr. Goodwin. “Well, prices are going up here, I assure you. Teachers want a raise and they already make $26.00 a month.”
Mr. Mabs scoffed, “The miners are threatening to strike again. They’re asking for $.39 an hour, up from $.34. I don’t know what the world is coming to.”
“I suppose we should listen to what the mayor has to say,” Hannish said, nodding toward the crowd. All three men turned to face the pavilion, where the Mayor was yelling so those in the back could hear his speech. Hannish barely listened, looking instead to see that all his ladies were safe. He nodded to Donnel and Blanka, saw Alistair with Sarah and noticed three men talking to Millie, none of whom were Prescot. Another look around found Prescot stuck between Pearl and Loretta, but Prescot wasn’t about to take his eyes off Millie. It made Hannish smile.
McKenna was with Abigail, the cooks were working the bake sale and the rest of the footmen were spread out among the crowd. Yet, nowhere could he see Sassy and Cathleen. There had to be an orange hat with feathers on top somewhere; all he had to do was find it. At last, he spotted them. They were admiring the jewelry, Sassy had her hat off and two men were talking to them. As if she knew he was looking at her, Sassy looked back and kept her eyes on his for several seconds. For a moment, he thought she might be asking for help, but she looked away and smiled at the man with her.
The next time he looked for Sassy, she was staring at someone in the crowd. He followed her gaze and discovered it was Charlotte, who stood on the lawn not all that far away. When he looked at Sassy again, it was clear she was not happy. She said something to one of the men, took Cathleen’s hand, and walked away. It was then he decided not to be so far away from her, just in case Charlotte started trouble. Slowly, he made his way around the crowd and positioned himself between Sassy and Charlotte.
Marblestone Mansion, Book 1 (Scandalous Duchess Series, #1) Page 18