The Misadventures of Lady Ophelia (The Undaunted Debutantes Book 3)

by Christina McKnight

  It had been only Colin she’d wanted in that moment.

  Ophelia did not fight to bring him close once more, but took the opportunity to take in all of him—and sure enough, her love was mirrored in his eyes.

  She couldn’t help but wonder if Luci and Edith had experienced this same life-changing moment with Montrose and Torrington.

  Could it be that she’d found her forever love, too?

  “Ophelia?” Luci called.

  She’d forgotten Luci and Edith still stood in the drive behind them.

  With a smile bright enough to light the dark evening, she turned to face her friends, her hand finding Colin’s in the space that separated them.

  The cold night air blew against her face as she and Colin, hand-in-hand, stood before Luci and Edith.

  “I think it best Edith and I return home now,” Luci said, her stare remaining on Colin. “What shall I tell your parents? I am certain they will be worried when I arrive home without you.”

  Ophelia hadn’t thought about how worried they’d be—and probably had been since that morning. “I will be home shortly, and I will explain everything, Luci. Will you tell them that?”

  “We will be there shortly,” Colin corrected at her side.

  “I can trust you to see her home safely?” Edith asked.

  “Of course,” Colin issued a curt bow. “It is best you both hurry out of the cold. I am certain Torrington and Montrose would have me strung up in Hyde Park if either of you were to become ill.”

  Ophelia released Colin’s hand and stepped forward, giving both women a quick hug to reassure them that she’d be fine and would be home soon.

  “I think it best we visit Tilda’s parents on the morrow and let them know what we found.” Luci’s return to her no-nonsense ways should have been expected. “They deserve to know before all of London finds out.”

  “I agree.” Ophelia nodded, returning to Colin. “But for tonight, we deserve a few hours to allow Sissy’s confession and Abercorn’s declaration of love to sink in. We’ve thought for over a year—lived in fear of something similar happening to each of us—that every man we encountered had the opportunity to harm us or another young woman. Abercorn loved Tilda, and if her words on her wedding night were true, she loved him, as well. Tonight, I will sleep soundly knowing this.”

  Edith stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Ophelia. The woman’s blond curls blocked Ophelia’s sight, but she was certain she saw Luci brush a tear from her eye.

  “Now, hurry home, the both of you,” Ophelia said sternly.

  The women hurried to their waiting carriage and set off, Ophelia giving them a small wave as they pulled out of sight.

  “My lord, my lady?” the butler called behind them. “The dowager and Lord Coventry have requested your presences inside.”

  “Shall we?” she asked, looking up at Colin. Her heart stumbled as his tongue darted out to moisten his lower lip.

  He ran his hand through his hair as his gaze settled on her. “Ophelia, may I—“

  “There will be time later to talk privately, Colin.” In truth, she was scared to hear what he had to say. Would he take back his confession of love? Would their mutual love not be enough? If there were other factors that would make their relationship impossible, Ophelia didn’t want to think about them until tomorrow—or the day after. “Let us not keep your grandmother waiting.”

  She didn’t allow him time for a response as she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and started for the front door. It seemed as if hours had passed since he’d pushed her from the study and closed the door in her face, causing her to flee to the driveway. It had probably only been minutes, but more than a lifetime of changes had occurred.

  The truth surrounding Tilda’s death had been learned. Lord Coventry had exited the townhouse with Molly on his arm. Her friends had whispered their words of praise for her courage. Colin had told her he loved her.

  And, possibly the most important occurrence, she’d confessed her love in return.

  The stark truth was that she’d felt the blossoms of love since he happened upon her napping in the Atholl gardens with Fair Wind’s book open on her lap and dreams of fair-haired, tanned, swashbuckling adventurers clouding her thoughts.

  The butler showed them into the study, the same room Colin had denied her entrance to earlier, but now he escorted her by his side across the threshold to face his father and grandmother. Lady Sissy was nowhere to be seen.

  The dowager and Lord Coventry made an unnerving pair.

  What they probably didn’t realize, was that Ophelia had faced far more daunting people—and situations—in her short life.

  These past events had thrown her life into chaos and uncertainty.

  But this situation, these people, did nothing to deter Ophelia. For once, she was completely confident in her choices, her feelings, and what she wanted for the future.

  And he stood at her side.

  Ophelia straightened her shoulders when Molly set her hands on her hips and scrutinized her from head to toe. She would not allow the older woman to intimidate her, even though she sensed her cheeks reddening and her heartbeat increasing. Collapsing under the woman’s stare was not an option, especially if Ophelia sought a future with Colin.

  “I see the lad gave ye me pendant,” she said.

  Ophelia grabbed the necklace with her free hand, its warmth infusing her with a feeling she’d never known before. All the while, she knew the time to return the necklace was now. It belonged to Molly, a gift from her true love, encapsulating all that he’d sacrificed for his family.

  Colin placed his hand on hers at his elbow, halting her from removing the pendant.

  Molly paced toward them, and Lord Coventry stood from his place in a chair before the hearth, uncertain what the woman’s course of action was.

  In response to Molly’s continued perusal, Ophelia’s chin lifted.

  “I have one question.” Her eyes sparked with each word as she moved her intense stare to Colin. Ophelia released a sigh, as it seemed Molly now focused on her grandson, but too soon, her stare swung back to her. “Lady Ophelia Fletcher…”

  “Yes, Lady Coventry.” It was her proper name as the dowager countess, but it didn’t fit the formidable, stoop-shouldered woman before her.

  “What, may I ask, are your intentions with me grandson?”

  Her intentions…with Colin?

  Ophelia fought the smile that threatened to overtake her as the woman’s stare softened and she gathered her thoughts.

  “Well, my lady,” Ophelia started with poise. “My intentions are to make an honest man of your grandson, Lord Hawke. Bare him a horde of fiery-haired hellion daughters, and a perhaps one or two fair-haired, broad-shouldered sons. Love him until my last breath. And make certain he never wants for anything.”

  Colin tensed beside her. They hadn’t spoken of marriage—let alone children.

  Lord Coventry chuckled as he moved to the sideboard and poured three tumblers of amber-colored liquid.

  But it was Molly who Ophelia kept coming back to. She hadn’t moved, hadn’t uttered a word, and Ophelia feared she’d said the wrong thing. Likely, she’d crossed the line when she mentioned fiery-haired hellions.

  Ophelia cared not a whit.

  The woman had asked, and Ophelia had spoken the truth.

  Her truth.

  Her vision for their future.

  Chapter 24

  Colin held Ophelia close to his side, as Molly stood stock-still, allowing the words to sink in. Hell, he’d need a month of Sundays to truly understand everything Ophelia had proclaimed. She not only loved him, but she wanted to be at his side forevermore. She’d spoken the exact words he’d been thinking and had prepared to say himself—yet she’d proclaimed them first.

  “My love for him has naught to do with the devil nor any sorceress enchantment I’ve cast over him. If anything, Molly, he has ensnared me in his spell.”

  Even if she were proven t
he sinister being Molly had accused her of during their first meeting, he would thank the devil himself for bringing Ophelia into his life.

  If it hadn’t been for her, Lady Sissy might have torn his family completely apart as his father tried to keep their family’s past hidden, and Molly sought to prove her husband’s honor. Without Ophelia, he would have given up hope, and never would have traveled to Sheerness because the book would have never been found.

  “Molly,” Colin said, his voice gravelly as he fought to keep his own emotions under control. “If it weren’t for Ophelia—her wit and many sacrifices—I would have given up hope. So many times, I was prepared to return from Sheerness with nothing, but it was Ophelia who reminded me that all hope was not lost and that we needed to keep searching.”

  His father returned to the group, handing each a tumbler. Ophelia released his arm and took her glass, eyeing the liquid suspiciously.

  Lord Coventry held his glass high, smiling at Colin, Ophelia, and lastly, Molly. “To the woman who put our family demons to rest, brought us all together as we should have been from the start, and put a hex on the most formidable dowager countess.”

  “She did what?” Molly screeched, her stare darting between Colin and Ophelia. “She cannot—“

  “To the woman who taught me how to live—one misadventure at a time,” Colin said, raising his own glass. “May our next adventure prove fruitful.”

  “Next adventure?” Ophelia stared up at him with rounded eyes, her confidence from a moment before slipping slightly. No one else in the room would notice, but Colin did.

  “My dear.” Colin handed his glass back to his father before plucking Ophelia’s tumbler from her trembling fingers. Coventry gladly took the glass from Colin. “It was you who asked for my hand in marriage…and I will not allow you to forget it. You promised to make an honest man of me. There is paperwork to be drawn up, arrangements to be discussed, and my dowry to be settled on.”

  Ophelia laughed, her eyes lighting with a look of love he was certain she saw in his, as well.

  Molly cackled before doubling over in a coughing fit.

  Straightening, the older woman held her glass high, clinked his father’s tumbler, and they both drank. “Should’a known it would take a siren ta capture Colin’s heart.” Molly shook her head. “He is far too much like your father, Ramsey.”

  “How so, Mother?”

  “He needs a strong woman ta guide him,” Molly said. “Make him the man he was always destined ta be.”

  Colin pulled Ophelia into his arms, ignoring his father and grandmama as they departed the room. The door closed behind them, and the latch clicked into place.

  He didn’t know what the future held, where they would go from here, or how they would convince Lord Atholl of their love. However, there was one thing Colin had no doubt of—Ophelia would be his. And he would be hers.

  He didn’t care where his destiny lay, as long as Ophelia was next to him.

  If society found out about the Coventry family’s past, Colin knew, without asking, Ophelia would stand by him. She was not the follower she’d always thought herself to be. No, she just hadn’t found the situation—or person—worth standing up for.

  Ophelia would stand up for him, speak up to protect him, and never allow anyone to speak ill of his family.

  And he would dedicate the rest of his life to doing the same for her—starting with convincing her father to allow them to wed.

  If there were an emotion deeper than love, adoration, and unwavering commitment; it would be how he felt for Lady Ophelia.

  There was only she and Colin in the room—if anyone else lingered, Ophelia did not notice or care. She looked up into Colin’s green eyes and smiling face. Had he ever appeared so happy and…at ease? In all the time she’d known him, he’d always had an invisible weight of sorts on his shoulders. It weighed him down far more than he realized, and Ophelia only understood the magnitude of it now that it was gone. He’d lived his life under the burden of his feuding family, always at a loss for where he fit in and searching for ways to stifle the fighting.

  Finally, the war between his grandmother and father had come to an end.

  It was time for Colin to find out who he was and what he wanted in life.

  …and he wanted her.

  His finger lifted her chin when she made to look away, bringing her stare back to him. “Ophelia?”

  The mere sight of him, his hair disheveled, his shirt wrinkled from their travels, and his satisfied grin had her heart racing. She could end every day looking up at him, just like this.

  “Yes,” she said with a breathless sigh.

  “You are brave.” He paused to place a kiss on her forehead. “You are fearless.” He placed a kiss on the tip of her nose, and Ophelia stifled a giggle. “You are smart.” He kissed her chin. “You are beautiful.” He dipped low and pressed a kiss to her chest, just above her beating heart and Molly’s pendant nestled against her bosom. “And you are utterly enchanting.”

  Her chin shook, and her breath caught in her chest. They were words she’d never believed would be spoken to her—about her. Especially by a man she’d come to love and cherish beyond anything. Love and happiness had found Edith and Luci—and Ophelia did not hold their contentment against them, even though she’d never suspected it would one day be hers.

  Ophelia longed to tell him it was because of him she was all those things. Only a fortnight ago, she would have kept that to herself, never uttered the words, but she could not allow this moment to pass without saying all she had to.

  “It is because of your trust and belief in me that I am brave, that I squashed the fear that resided in me and overcame the doubt that plagued me my entire life. Before you, I did not shine, I was trapped within myself, living a life and following a path that others set for me.” She paused, determined to say everything. “But not anymore. My destiny is mine to grasp”—she took hold of his arms above the elbow—“and I choose you, Colin.”

  There were a million little things she’d wanted to tell him a thousand times during their short acquaintance, like that he made her feel like more than she’d ever longed to be. It was odd that most of their time together had happened away from London and everything that was familiar to her. She’d defined herself as Luci’s and Edith’s friend, Tilda’s champion through her writing for the Mayfair Confidential, a duke’s perfect, demure daughter, and a confirmed bookworm, but she was far more than those things. She was Ophelia, with or without being all the things she’d thought herself to be, and what others expected of her.

  “You’ve shown me that adventure does not lie solely between the pages of a book. Passion is not reserved for the fanciful tales of old. And love is not meant only for Lucianna and Edith, but for me, as well, if only I am courageous enough to accept it—and remain steadfast in my determination to hold on to it.”

  Her grip tightened, proving her point that she was never letting him go. Not today, certainly not tomorrow, and most definitely not years from that moment.

  “No matter the misadventures to come—and I can assure you, there will be many if I have anything to say on the matter”—he paused, his laugh unforced and relaxed—“you will be at my side. There is no other woman I’d rather be deserted in the Sahara with. No other lady who could lead me safely through the viper pits that are most London soirées. And no other woman I’d trust if faced by a panther in the Amazon rainforest.”

  Ophelia had to laugh along with him. “I can assure you, there is quite a difference between a ballroom and the wilds of the Amazon. I do not think the two are comparable, my lord.”

  “Have you ever been to the Amazon?”

  “No, but—“

  “Well, I have been to my share of London balls, and I can assure you, they are quite daunting indeed.”

  “Then it is very beneficial that you have selected such an undaunted debutante to have at your side.”

  “Debutante?” His brow rose in question. “Certainly n
ot, my lady, before long, you will be Lady Hawke.”

  “We have yet to—“

  The door crashed open behind them, slamming against its hinges, causing both Ophelia and Colin to whip around toward the door. For a brief moment, she feared Lady Sissy had escaped the footman and come back, but the thump of her cane against the polished wood floor announced Molly’s arrival.

  “Enough with the bloody details or the pair of ye will still be yap’n inta next year,” she shouted, tapping her cane with each word. “You love me lad, and me lad loves ye. There be nothin’ else ta speak of. Kiss the damned woman, Colin!”

  “Yes, Grandmama,” Colin said, turning back to face Ophelia and gathering her into his arms. “With pleasure.”

  And kiss her he did.

  Epilogue

  One last word for young women of the ton: Hold tight to your determination.

  Remain undaunted and steadfast, no matter what life presents you with.

  Life is not about becoming what others want you to be, but about trusting your worth,

  finding your true self, and taking chances—even with a perfect stranger.

  Lastly, pay close heed to things you are naturally drawn to; be it person or possession.

  Here, you will find your path, passion, and purpose.

  Fare thee well, good readers of the Gazette.

  -Mayfair Confidential, London Daily Gazette

  Every eye in the dining hall was on Ophelia as she slowly walked down the length of table as she greeted guests and accepted their words of good tidings. It would only last a few short minutes—though it was a time when all attention was on her. She’d never believed she longed for a time when she was the center of everyone’s thoughts.

  Glancing down the table, he nodded to her, giving her the courage to continue on.

  She paused by Lucianna, Ophelia clutched Molly’s pendant close and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “It is lovely to see your mother and family.”