Perhaps, Mallory was mistaken, or Malcolm had sired Charles. She laughed, finding it hard to imagine her straight-laced honorable older brother ever having anything to do with Charles’s whore of a mother. Still, as a bastard, and an adopted child, Charles could inherit nothing, and Mallory could not bestow any courtesy titles upon the young lad.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Captain, I didn’t know that you had old friends visiting,” Seamus apologized, darting his glance between Mallory and Archie.
She caught the bright smile that Seamus gave Archie, and she wondered at it. How did they know each other? She knew that Seamus had served with Mallory during the war, and she also knew that he’d served with Mallory in his days as a privateer. What she didn’t know was that Archie knew Mallory from those days as well.
Foolish girl, you should have wised up before this.
“So, I expect you served with my brother during the wars.”
“Aye, I served with Malcolm. He was a grand captain, although I’d already been given my own ship and crew when he fell at Trafalgar. The world lost a shining star that day.”
“I…” Her mind whirled. “I need to get out of here, I need to breathe.” Her mind was a wild jumble of thoughts, “I need air.” She turned around, darted for the door to her bedchamber, and had almost reached it when he placed his hand on her shoulder.
“Well, in that case, Lady Gemma, I shall definitely be seeing you.”
She shivered at his tantalizing words of promise, opened her bedchamber door, dashed through it, and slammed it in his face, locking it securely behind her.
Chapter Four
Archie smiled.
He’d never expected to be so bewitched by Lady Gemma, but she’d entranced him from the first moment he’d set eyes on her. And, now he would make her his.
“I don’t think I like the merry game the two of you are trying to play with Gemma.” Elizabeth’s stern voice cut through his thoughts. He ambled over to Mallory.
“I have to say though, this is a lot of fun, more fun than I’d ever thought. I think it might even be more entertaining than our exploits at sea. What do you think, Mallory?”
“Sea? Are we going to sea again? When?” Charles bobbed between them looking up at all of them with his bubbly, yet earnest expression.
“No, Charles. We are not going to sea.” Mallory looked as if he was inclined to laugh, Archie didn’t know how he kept such a stern visage. “Elizabeth, you know how much I detest that little foul fop that she’s set her cap on. He isn’t good enough to even be in her presence, he isn’t good enough for any woman, let alone my sister!”
Archie cleared his throat. “Perhaps, we need to reconsider our strategic positions in this battle. She clearly doesn’t look kindly upon a marriage between the two of us. I…I suppose I shall have to court her. We shan’t be having a hasty marriage after all.”
“You thought you could marry her off in haste? Oh, Mallory. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am. Your mother shall be absolutely appalled.” Elizabeth shook her head. “I swear the two of you will be the death of me with your constant strategizing. Archie, I appreciate you sailing back from the West Indies for my husband, but I do think you’ll have to abandon this or you shall have to give it your all to win her heart. Love doesn’t always come easily. She has her back up now against the two of you, and Gemma is frightfully stubborn. Mayhap more stubborn than me, and you know how bloody pigheaded I was.” Mallory looked away from her. “I don’t blame Gemma for rebelling against you two. She doesn’t want her future to be planned by the two of you. You have no right. She cannot be forced into marriage. You do understand that, don’t you?”
“Aye,” Mallory grumbled. “However, my love, my ideas don’t always end in heartache. I did set into motion our future when I took you under my guiding wing,” Mallory pointed out.
Elizabeth frowned. “I wouldn’t exactly put it that way, Mallory, my love.” She sighed and directed her attention to Charles. “Charles, dear, why don’t you go out with Seamus and start building that treehouse you had your heart set on. I’m sure some of the other men would be more than willing to help you and Seamus. They haven’t known what to do with themselves, since Archie returned.”
“Thank you, Aunt Elizabeth,” Charles said, giving her a gentlemanly bow, and then ran back toward the way that he’d arrived.
Seamus shook his head. “Carpentry never was my skill, I just wish you’d let me into the fancy kitchens the castle boasts. I could whip you up quite the feast in there.”
“Well, Seamus, if you can brave Mrs. Grant and her kitchen staff, then I’d say you can have a go,” Elizabeth said, granting her permission.
Mallory laughed. “Mrs. Grant has been in my family’s employ since she was Miss Rivers. She even stayed on with us, when I could barely pay her half wages. She said she was part of the family and that she wasn’t going to abandon us in our darkest hours. Under that large stern outer appearance, she has a heart of gold. But I warn you. She has a fighting spirit. If you can get past her formidable person, then you may certainly fix us a feast in the kitchen. Seamus, if she hadn’t been born a woman, I would have enlisted her to work in our company of men. She is quite the strong willed protector when it comes to her territory.”
“I know, I found that out when she chased me out of the kitchen with her huge wooden spoon, she’d actually made contact with my behind a few times, she’s wicked with that thing. I’d rather face down one of Antonio’s men.” Seamus rolled his eyes.
Archie noticed Elizabeth turn a shade paler. Mallory made a weird noise. “I don’t think we shall ever have to worry about that again, Seamus, since we have sworn off that life.”
“Aye, so you keep telling me. Well, I’m off to play nursemaid to that little bugger, may God grant me the patience to persevere,” he prayed, rolling his eyes heavenward.
“I’m going to go and check on the baby. You two can bloody well get off your high horses when it comes to the plans you have for Gemma. I won’t hear of you forcing her into a marriage, just because Archie led her into that kiss.”
“I didn’t lead, I more or less wanted to charm her into it, though I’d wager, she wasn’t completely against my forwardness.” Archie grinned widely.
“Actually, Campbell, from my viewpoint, she looked like she was enjoying your fervent attentions,” Mallory commented. “I haven’t seen Gemma’s cheeks shine like that in years. She was glowing with happiness. I do think you just might be the best thing for her.”
“You two should be ashamed of yourselves.” Elizabeth shook her head, glanced up at the ceiling, she muttered an inaudible prayer, and then with a swish of skirt, she was gone. Archie resisted the urge to smile again. He couldn’t seem to help himself, he never thought he’d enjoy himself this much when Mallory had first sent for him. Mallory had been right when he’d promised him one hell of a good time if he returned.
Gemma was worth coming back to England, and she was worth having to deal with the all of the headaches that would come back with having returned to his former life. Now, as long as he could stay at the castle until he went back to the West Indies, hopefully with Gemma in tow, then he’d be all set. She had promise. She had the promise of being a hell of a good wife to him. Still, the thought of settling here in England or Scotland with her and making a home of their very own did appeal to him. He might just give up the heat of the West Indies for her.
“Now that Elizabeth is out of earshot we can discuss what you need to do next. I want her away from that blasted earl of hers, so as soon as we away to Brighton, you shall have to turn on the charm, and find a way to talk her into marriage. I don’t want her to ruin her life, Archie. I do not want her to marry Duxford. She is being blind right now and she’ll wake up from her fog when it is too late. You will have to do everything in your power to take her as your wife. Once she’s married to you, I don’t care what you do. You can abscond back to whence you came for all that I care.”
“And leave my bri
de behind?”
“She will be safe here, and she won’t be able to do anything stupid, if she’s married to you.”
“Bold words. You and she share that same kind of arrogance,” Archie mused. “You would marry her to me and deny her the pleasures of married life?”
Archie grinned at the uncomfortable expression that Mallory now wore. “Aye. I would. I would do anything to get her away from that little toad. I would even marry her to Elizabeth’s cousin, but she didn’t show the interest in him that she has portrayed for you, and besides, I fear that Ann has already lost her heart to that scoundrel, such as he is. I want you to be married to her within the fortnight, after which, as I said, you can do as you very well please.”
“What if I want to stay here and build a life with Gemma?”
“Here in England?”
“My family does have land here,” he said calmly.
“I know, I just didn’t think you’d want to settle here. You always seem to have a yearning for distant shores.”
“That just might be changing,” he mused.
The sooner Gemma is safe from that little shite, the better. I didn’t know how sick and twisted he truly was, until I put some inquiries in at the London brothels. I shan’t have my sister subjected to him—and you owe me, Archie. I saved your life, so now you’re going to save my sister’s life. I will do anything to see her avoid that fate…even…even if you have to undertake some questionable methods.”
“I confess, I was hesitant at first. However, now, now, I’m ready to do what I need to do. I do believe that I shall enjoy this more than I enjoyed saving your life. I was laid up with my head wound in constant pain, but this, this shall be a lot more diverting. Come to think of it, I’ll owe you another debt of gratitude.”
“You really are that taken with her, aren’t you? Well, I give you credit for your tenacity. You’ll have another production of The Taming the Shrew on your hands, with my sister. She is definitely the most difficult one of the bunch. I think it comes with her being the eldest of my sisters. She’s always taken care of them so well in my absence that she thinks she should have been born a man…” Mallory stopped at Archie’s fit of laughter.
“Well, I can certainly say I would not be saving her from impending matrimony if she were a man. She wouldn’t interest me quite so much.”
“Indeed.” Mallory smiled. “Elizabeth might fight it, and Gemma, well, she will certainly fight it. Hopefully, my mother and the rest of my sisters will remain in London. That should simplify things a little for us. We will leave for Brighton upon the morrow, and that’s when the fun shall really begin. You’ll have to win and woo my Gemma quicker than you’ve ever courted a fair maiden before. I want this wedding. It’s the only way. I just got a bloody missive earlier from that annoying little toad. He and his sister will be arriving here by hired carriage tomorrow morning. So we need to leave before they arrive,” Mallory shuddered. “I wonder if I could possibly scare him to death by dressing up like Captain Rafe Morgan?” he laughed. “That little man would probably scream like a girl and hide behind Gemma’s skirts.”
“Why the hell does he have to hire a coach? I thought he had deep pockets.”
“Those deep pockets of his have holes in them. All of his considerable debauched ways have dried the well, I’m afraid. Ah, if only I were still at sea using the guise of Captain Morgan, I would have him dancing at the end of my cutlass.”
“Men who marry for money should be—” He rested his hand at his side, suddenly remembering that he no longer wore his obligatory cutlass. It usually served to comfort him. Maybe he could make sure he was wearing his uniform tomorrow that way he could scare the living daylights out of Duxford by giving him a little demonstration with his prized Royal Navy Cutlass.
“Go ahead and finish your sentence,” Mallory said. “I agree with it all. Some might still think that I married Elizabeth for her money, but we both know better. I married her because she owns my heart. We both enjoyed making her father pay for all of his past transgressions.”
“Aye. And Gemma thinks she’s getting a man she can control like a puppet. Where does your sister get her foolish ideas?”
“I haven’t the foggiest. She doesn’t want to be under the thumb of her husband, and yet, she wants to be able to control her husband’s every move. She certainly doesn’t know what married life is like. She will not be able to keep him on a short leash. I keep trying to tell her that will not be the case with Duxford, but I might as well reason with the wall for all the good it does reasoning with her.”
“There’s only one thing to do, mate. I shall have to court her right out of Duxford’s enchantment into my own embrace, and once she is there I doubt I shall ever want to release her.” He gave Mallory a cheeky grin. Mallory slapped him heartily on the shoulder.
“Now, that’s what I’ve been waiting to hear since I enlisted your assistance in this matter. Since Ethan died, I’ve noticed just how much confiding in him used to help me. He always had a way of making me see sense, when it came to my rambunctious sisters.” Grief reflected in Mallory’s eyes. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over missing Ethan or Malcolm for that matter. Whenever I needed them, they were always there.”
“Ethan was old enough to be our father.” Archie sighed. “How many of the old group of ours have we buried? Our numbers are dwindling to a mere trickle.”
“Too many,” Mallory set his mouth into a grim line. “I hate the thought of losing any more of our friends. We have been through so much together.”
“Well, I guess since we are among the ones that are still standing, we need to stand together.”
“Indeed we do, and we are.” Mallory looked to his sister’s bedroom door. “Now we just need to set the stage. It shouldn’t be too hard for you to commence your courtship of her while in Brighton. We have a few soirees that we have been invited to, and even if Gemma refuses to leave our townhouse, you will have ample time to set about wooing her.”
“Mallory, I wish there was a way for me to hasten her trip to the altar, but any of the ideas I have you probably wouldn’t approve of.”
“You want to ruin her?” he asked, his eyes hardening slightly.
“Not the way you think. I would like to compromise her. All I’d need to do arrange for us to be seen in a compromising pose by the little wretch that she is affianced to. Now, we just need to urge her to leave the sanctuary of her bedchamber.”
Mallory leaned against the wall, and stared at the marble bust of some ancient family member that sat beside him. “Hmm…well, one of the ways to Gemma’s heart is through her stomach. She has a frightful appetite. The thing is she can eat whatever she fancies without having to worry about it going to her waistline. I’ll see what Elizabeth has planned for dinner, if we’re lucky, she’ll have something that really caters to Gemma’s tastes.”
“And if we are not lucky?”
“Then, we’ll have to make sure that Mrs. Grant makes a nice tasty little pudding, for afters. If she does not, we’ll just have to leave it to Gemma’s nose. She’s been blessed with the nose of a bloodhound just like all of the rest of us St. Martin’s have. Now, I must go and find that delightful little duchess of mine.” Chuckling, he ambled leisurely away, leaving Archie with the company of his thoughts.
“Act Two is about to begin my lovely little shrew.” Whistling a jaunty tune, he walked through the upstairs headed for his own apartments. He had to make sure that he looked like the dashing debonair man of Gemma’s dreams for tonight. It was time for him to reach inside and bring out the well-dressed scoundrel that he was whenever he was in Great Britain.
Chapter Five
Gemma turned away from her sketchbook and looked over toward her open window.
She could hear music. Pushing her chair back, she stood up and stretched languidly. She’d heard the dressing gong about twenty minutes ago. Dinner would be served shortly but she wasn’t about to dine with the others, she had full confidence that a ma
id would bring her meal to her.
Elizabeth had to be playing the pianoforte in the music room, probably as a nice little prelude to dinner. Grimacing at the large most unladylike growl that her stomach let out, she walked to the window seat, sat down and lost herself in Elizabeth’s composition. When the harp joined the pianoforte, she dropped the sketch pencil she still held in her hand.
There was no one else in attendance at the castle that could play the harp adequately, save for Elizabeth and she. Unless her mother and sisters had arrived back from London early, which she doubted, since her mother had been set on attending Lady Astor’s famous masquerade ball. There was supposed to be a revival of her famous Midsummer Night’s Dream theme.
The question that plagued the hell out of her was who in the world could be playing the pianoforte? Mallory knew how, though he detested it with a passion.
“Archie,” The word slipped out of her mouth before she could even realize she’d said his name. Why had he been able to work his way under her skin so thoroughly and in such a short amount of time?
If she was completely honest with herself, he was the finest looking man she’d ever set eyes upon. His dark blue eyes sparkled like the finest sapphires, and their warmth permeated straight through her skin whenever he looked at her. His black hair gave him an air of mystery. It was a different shade from Elizabeth’s black hair, and when the light hit his in just the right spot, you could almost see red highlights. She swallowed. Fanning herself furiously with her hand, she stood up on wobbly legs, and walked over to her wardrobe. She summoned her maid and waited.
Once her maid had arrived, she slipped out of the comfortable morning gown she’d changed into after taking off her dusty riding clothes. With her maid’s help, they searched the two wardrobes in her chamber for something that would make her stand out next to Elizabeth.
Sometimes, she envied Elizabeth for her unique beauty. With her haunting look, she always gave the impression of being a faerie princess. “Ah, ha! This is it, Carson. This should do nicely. This should work to my benefit.” She reached for the sapphire colored silk gown. It had a plunging neckline, accented by the high waistline. With a few strands of pearls and the sapphire jewels her mother had given her last month, she’d definitely stand out in the room. She had considered wearing her emerald evening gown, but she knew that Elizabeth had just had an emerald gown made by her dressmaker, and she would more than likely be wearing it tonight.
His to Keep (Regency Scoundrels Book 2) Page 5