Grace: A Regency Romance (The Four Sisters' Series Book 3)

by Audrey Harrison

  “Yes, the Duke was quite clear; you have entered this house as a guest and are to be treated as one. I’ve put your clothes in your cottage only because I thought you might like some fresh air,” Mr Bryant said, enjoying the look of total shock on Harry’s face.

  “I will have my breakfast in the kitchen where I belong,” Harry said firmly.

  “I’m sorry,” Bryant said in his loftiest voice. “You are no longer a member of staff here; therefore, I forbid you to enter the kitchen area. As a guest, at the request of the Duke of Sudworth, you shall breakfast in the dining room. Miss Eleanor is expecting your company.”

  “The world has gone mad,” Harry said but did not continue to argue. There was no point trying; he knew Bryant well enough to know he would carry out the wishes of the Duke and Duchess whatever they were.

  He hurried round to his cottage. It felt strange returning there to see it without all his own personal belongings surrounding him. It had been aired out, and a small fire was lit, heating a panful of boiling water he used to clean himself up. A change of clothes had been provided; they were of a better quality than anything he owned. He had no idea where they had come from and felt odd in such finery. They were not as fine as the Duke wore, but they were certainly of a higher quality than Harry was used to.

  Walking up the steps at the front entrance, Harry thought his father would be turning in his grave if he could see him. He had always stressed it was important for Harry to know his place. It might have been because Harry and Peter had played together as boys, and his father did not wish him to see what Peter had and become discontented. Now, Harry was walking up the front steps and having the butler open the door to him.

  Mr Bryant nodded to Harry but did not say anything about his dress. There was no need; both knew the situation was peculiar. Harry was led to the dining room as he had no idea where the room was. He had been an outside worker; there had never been any need for him to venture beyond the green baize door into the main part of the house.

  Eleanor was already seated in the dining room and broke into a smile when she saw Harry. “Good morning! I’m so glad you’ve joined me; I’m not very good at entertaining myself,” she said cheerfully.

  “Good morning,” Harry bowed awkwardly.

  “Please take a seat after filling your plate with goodies from the sideboard. I’m hoping your appearance here means you’ve worked your magic on my sister.”

  Harry smiled at Eleanor while he piled a plate full of food from a choice of more food than he had ever seen on any breakfast table. “I’m happy to say I do have good news. Miss Johnson has regained consciousness; she is talking, although not too much as yet.”

  “Excellent!” Eleanor smiled. “I knew you would do the trick.”

  “I don’t think I had anything to do with it,” Harry said, joining her at the table.

  “Of course, you did; all she murmured when she was delirious was your name,” Eleanor said matter-of-fact.

  Harry flushed a little. “I’m just relieved it looks as if she will be well.”

  “Let’s hope my sister and brother are more reasonable to considering a match between the two of you.”

  “I doubt that; nothing has changed. I’m still a gardener not a titled gentleman,” Harry said. He liked Eleanor; she had no airs about her, but he was a realist: having one young woman as a supporter was not the same as having the support of the Duke and Duchess.

  “We’ll see,” Eleanor said with a smile.

  “Did you enjoy your visit to Bath?” Harry asked, trying to change the subject. “Grace mentioned you had been visiting there with a friend.”

  “I have been, but it was not as enjoyable as I’d expected,” Eleanor said with a frown. She sighed and looked at Harry. “I won’t be admitting it to many people, but I managed to make a fool of myself while I was there.”

  “That surprises me,” Harry answered honestly. She seemed such a confident young woman for her age.

  “It surprised me,” Eleanor admitted with a rueful smile. “It brought home that I’m not as good a judge of character as I thought I was. I’m still stinging from the embarrassment of finding out that fact.”

  “That doesn’t bode well for me,” Harry said with a smile.

  “No, I may not be infallible as I had thought I was, but I have confidence in Grace’s abilities. If she fell in love with you, I know you must be a person of the finest qualities. She would never commit to someone who wasn’t worthy of her affections,” Eleanor said seriously.

  Harry flushed; it was not the first time someone had mentioned love in a conversation about Grace and himself. Of course, he loved her, but the reticent man had never uttered the words to anyone before. He did not answer Eleanor not really knowing what to say.

  He finished his breakfast and stood. “I’m going to return to your sister, if you would excuse me, Miss Johnson.”

  “Eleanor,” Eleanor said. “I shall accompany you. I’m looking forward to seeing Grace awake at last.”

  Chapter 18

  Eleanor and Harry entered the bedchamber together. Grace was watching the door, and her face broke into a smile when she saw Harry. Both Eleanor and Harry could not be unaffected by the sight of Grace, still looking frail but with eyes sparkling.

  Harry smiled back at her and winked. He could not say what he felt with so many others in the room. Eleanor approached the bed.

  “Hello Grace; I’m happy to see you looking better than you did when I arrived,” Eleanor said, leaning to kiss her sister.

  “Hello,” Grace smiled in return.

  “Haven’t you been leading an exciting life?” Eleanor teased. “I do approve of your beau; I must say he’s a handsome devil!”

  Grace smiled, mainly because of the look of horror on Harry’s face. “He’s mine, Eleanor; hands off,” Grace said, her voice still a little rough.

  Eleanor laughed. “I have missed you, Grace!”

  “And I you,” Grace said with a shy smile.

  Peter stood and looked at Harry. “I think we need to talk,” he said.

  “Yes, Your Grace,” Harry replied.

  “Shall we adjourn to my study? Peter asked.

  “No!” Grace said, looking panicked. “Stay and talk here.”

  “Grace, there are things that need to be discussed; we don’t want you becoming overtired,” Rosalind soothed her sister.

  “No!” Grace croaked. “It’s my future; I want to be there.”

  “She should be,” Eleanor said quietly. Rosalind looked at Eleanor with a frown. “Don’t look at me like that, Rosalind; it is her future you are discussing; she should be allowed to speak. Father is the one in the family who disregards our feelings; I would not want to accuse you of the same, Rosalind,” Eleanor continued defensively.

  Rosalind sighed, “I don’t want you suffering a relapse,” she said to Grace.

  “I won’t,” Grace responded. “Eleanor, stay.”

  “There is no need for all this fuss!” Rosalind said, exasperated.

  “As it appears we are to have a family discussion, let’s make ourselves comfortable,” Peter said returning to his seat and indicating that Harry should also take a seat.

  Harry did not wish to have any conversation in front of so many people, but he understood why Grace was insistent of the discussion taking place where she was present. He was not convinced it would matter in the long-term; he could not imagine why there would be a change of feeling by the Duke and Duchess.

  “Harry, I have to ask you this,” Peter started. “And I did not wish Grace to be here to hear this, but what you had with Grace: was it serious on your part or were you carried away in the moment of having a young lady enticing you to behave inappropriately?”

  Grace gasped and looked to speak, but Harry shook his head at her. It was a reasonable question; he just wished it had been asked without an audience. He turned his clear grey eyes back to the Duke; the two men looked at each other. “I would never start anything with a genteel
lady unless I was serious about her and the consequences. I accepted the dismissal; I still accept it,” he said honestly.

  Peter nodded his head slightly, “I had to ask. I believe you Harry; you have always been honest with me.”

  “When do you want me to leave?” Harry asked. He did not wish to be in this state of uncertainty.

  “Never!” Grace said from the bed. Eleanor smiled and patted her sister’s hand.

  “Have faith,” Eleanor whispered. “I have only seen a little of Peter, but I like what I have seen.”

  “We have a dilemma,” Peter said. “When you were dismissed, we thought there was no chance gossip about the two of you would spread. Unfortunately we were wrong. That puts a different light on events.”

  “Mrs Adams has heard gossip,” Rosalind said.

  “That doesn’t surprise you, does it?” Eleanor asked. “I would imagine she knows everything. I’m frightened about scrapes I may have got into as a child for fear she will find out about them! She’s far scarier than you ever were, Rosalind!”

  Peter suppressed a smile; he appreciated that Eleanor was trying to keep the situation light. “We need to work out what is the best way forward. We may need to contact Mr Johnson.”

  “No!” Eleanor and Grace said in unison.

  Eleanor turned to Rosalind. “How can you think of contacting father? You know what his response will be: he will force Grace to marry Mr Wadeson.”

  “Who’s Mr Wadeson?” Harry asked through gritted teeth. It looked as if there were a whole line of gentlemen waiting to marry the woman he wanted to marry.

  “He’s the man who father has decided will take over the business when he is too old to continue. Father wants one of us to marry him in order to keep a family connection to the business,” Eleanor explained. She turned to Rosalind. “Both Annabelle and Grace wrote to me, describing how horrible he was in character and mannerisms; you can’t force her into a marriage where she dislikes the man so much.”

  “Father will never agree to her marrying Harry,” Rosalind said realistically. It was true; Mr Johnson wanted his daughters to have marriages that would raise them in society, not lower them, and marriage to a gardener would do that. “And if he did, he would not give her any dowry. You know how he can be,” Rosalind said.

  Harry spoke before anyone else had an opportunity. Grace was fully aware his eyes had clouded over. “I do not want and never have wanted any dowry. I have always lived within my means and would do that even when supporting a wife. None of this was because I thought a large dowry would be forthcoming.”

  Rosalind still was not fully convinced about Harry, mainly because she still stung because of what he had said to her. “You have no livelihood; how long will you be able to support her?” she asked a little unfairly.

  Peter looked at his wife with a frown, but Harry spoke. “I will work at anything to support my wife. I have already applied for two positions, so I am not anticipating being out of work for long, depending on my reference from yourselves of course.” If they went back on their word about a good reference, he would be virtually unemployable.

  “Are you saying you want to marry Grace?” Peter asked.

  Harry looked at Grace and spoke to her before answering Peter. “This is not the way I wanted things to happen; it should have been done in a far better way for you. I’m sorry,” he apologised to Grace. He turned his attention back to Peter. “I want to marry Miss Johnson, I will always want to marry her and, if I am prevented, there will never be anyone else.”

  Grace’s eyes filled with tears; she moved to get out of the bed, but both Rosalind and Eleanor tried to stop her. “No,” she said, shaking off their hands, “I want Harry.”

  Grace struggled to sit on the edge of the bed. She felt very shaky and shivered a little; the room was very warm, but she had been swaddled in many blankets. She looked at Harry, he was watching her closely; she smiled slightly, wanting to go to him but not sure she had the strength. Instead she held out a hand to him.

  Harry stood and plucked a blanket from the bed, wrapping Grace in it and lifted her into his arms. She weighed hardly anything, which worried him, but he would concentrate on making sure she ate later; for now, there were more important things to worry about. He returned to the chair he had been seated in and placed Grace on his knee.

  He gently tucked her into him, wrapping his arms around her. “Better?” he asked.

  Grace smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. “Perfect,” she replied with a contented sigh.

  Peter smiled and looked at Rosalind, a question in his eyes. Rosalind shrugged slightly. “I don’t know how we are going to persuade Father to let Grace marry Harry instead of Mr Wadeson,” she said.

  “I’m going to marry Mr Wadeson,” Eleanor said, all laughter gone.

  “What?” Rosalind asked in shock.

  “It will solve everything,” Eleanor said seriously. “I have no attachments to anyone, and if I marry him, Father will be forced to accept Grace and Harry’s marriage, so everyone will be happy.”

  “Apart from you,” Harry said quietly.

  “I could fall madly in love with the man the moment I see him,” Eleanor said flippantly, but for once the laughter was gone from her eyes. In its place there was a deep sadness, which she was trying to hide but was too strong for her mask to cover completely.

  “I think I have an alternative solution,” Peter said. Everyone turned to listen. “Harry, we were too quick to act when we found out about the liaison between yourself and Grace. I am hoping you will accept it was as a result of shock the day she was poisoned, but in reality I hope you can forgive the poor decision.”

  Harry nodded but didn’t say anything.

  “Thank you,” Peter continued. “With that in mind, I hope you will return to us as Head Gardener. There isn’t a better one within a hundred miles of here, and I want to keep hold of you. I will give you a pay rise to compensate for the inconvenience and damage to your character we have caused, although I am sure people will soon forget. Would that be acceptable?”

  “I never wanted to work anywhere else,” Harry said.

  “Will you be able to deal with the staff? There is bound to be talk,” Peter said.

  “That is of no concern, as long as it doesn’t affect Grace,” Harry said, holding Grace slightly tighter.

  “That leads me onto the next thing,” Peter continued. “As head of the household, I’m afraid that sometimes I need to make decisions that are implemented quickly and are made without seeking the opinion of everyone who might be affected by them.” Everyone looked at Peter wondering just what he was going to say.

  “Rosalind, I’m afraid that, in the eyes of Society, your sister has been compromised, and I insist that a special licence is obtained and the marriage takes place immediately. As to the situation with who she should be marrying, I am not aware of anyone your father has in mind for any of your sisters; he has not communicated that information to me. I shall be writing to Mr Johnson explaining what I have insisted on and asking him to still consider giving Grace a dowry, as he will find a most hard-working son-in-law in Harry. He appreciates hard work; I will hope that will sway him into being generous.”

  “If that does not persuade him, you will always have a home here; you can live in Sudworth Hall if you wish. I am presuming Harry would not wish to take part in some of the activities we are forced to, but if Grace should ever want to attend a dance, she would be welcome as my sister.”

  “Thank you,” Grace said.

  “We will live wherever Grace wishes,” Harry said. He would not relish living in such a grand house as Sudworth Hall, but if it meant he would be married to Grace, it would be a small sacrifice.

  Grace looked at Harry, “You know where I want to live; I will be happiest in your cottage, with you. Dances are of no interest to me, but there is one demand I do have.”

  “What is it?” Harry asked.

  “We are always to have Dianthus in the garden,”
Grace smiled, leaning over and kissing his cheek. “I want nothing else.” She rested her head once more on Harry’s shoulder, her eyes closing. She was still fighting the tiredness that had enveloped her for days.

  “Then it is agreed,” Peter said. “Rosalind I suggest you concentrate on sorting out a wedding trousseau for your sister; we don’t want to overtire her.”

  Rosalind came over to where Harry and Grace sat. She rested a hand on Harry’s shoulder. He met her gaze, but he was wary. “I’m sorry for doubting you,” Rosalind said. “These two days I have seen what you feel for Grace; I could want no more.”

  “Thank you,” Harry said. He did not wish to be at loggerheads with any of Grace’s family; it would put her under unnecessary distress, and he wanted their lives to be perfect after they were married.

  Eleanor stood. “Well, I hope you can make use of a bridesmaid, because I insist on being one!” she said with a smile.

  “Of course,” Grace smiled in return.

  “Good, I shall go and arrange my outfit; I shall seek your opinion when I have assessed my options,” Eleanor said, walking towards the door. “Welcome to the family Harry.”

  When Eleanor left, Peter stood, “It appears I have some things to organise,” he said.

  “Before you go, Your Grace,” Harry said. He looked between Rosalind and Peter. “I don’t know if you are aware of something, but I feel it is the right thing to do to tell you.”

  Peter sat down once more. “Go ahead.”

  “I don’t know Eleanor very well, so I may be speaking out of turn, but I feel something happened in Bath that has affected her deeply,” Harry started.

  “How do you mean?” Rosalind asked.

  “I haven’t got details that could support my assumption, but it was something she said this morning about making a fool of herself,” Harry continued. “I hope I’m not speaking out of turn.”

  “No, I’m thankful you mentioned it,” Rosalind said. “I thought her volunteering to marry Mr Wadeson was out of character. She has written before now expressing her disgust at our father for suggesting such a scheme. I had presumed she was being flippant when she said she was going to marry him, but, from what you say, that may not be the case.”