Regency Romances

by Grace Fletcher

  “Yes, she is, my lord.”

  He nodded. “Very well, you may leave.”

  Anne curtsied slightly before leaving.

  Barton returned to what he was doing and had hardly written anything when he heard noises outside. At first, he wasn’t sure if it was coming from the house or outside so he listened carefully.

  “You cannot come in, sir,” shouted David, his butler to whoever it was.

  “Nonsense! This is my house and I can come in if I want!”

  When Barton heard the voice that followed, his brows tightened. He abandoned what he was doing and walked out of his office. He met his butler on the way.

  “My lord, your brother is here.”

  “I know, David, do not worry about it. Where is he?” he asked but before David could answer, Barton saw his brother climbing up the stairs towards him. He had grown even bigger, muscular, and taller. His hair hung loosely around his shoulders.

  “Hello, brother. Long time no see,” said Terrence with a mischievous smile.

  Barton managed a smile. “Hello, brother. It has been a long time,” he replied.

  Both brothers embraced each other before pulling away.

  “It has been more than twenty years, look how fast you have grown,” Terrence said.

  “We weren’t expecting you so soon,” Barton said as they got to the parlor. Terrence was busy going through the decorations and other ornaments on the wall.

  “Of course. I thought I should give you a surprise,” Terrence replied. He was lifting the flower vase on the table. Looking at it admiringly.

  “What should the servants offer you?” Barton asked.

  “Oh! Nothing at all. They are soon going to be my servants as we both know it,” Terrence replied laughing. “So, I wouldn’t want to bother them right now.”

  Barton was trying not to get angry. “What brought you here, Terrence? You didn’t come when father was sick, you were not here when mother died, now you are here.”

  Terrence picked up a painting that was hung on the wall. “This would cost a fortune in the market,” he said, ignoring Barton’s question. Afterwards, he faced his younger brother. “Look at you, little brother. You have grown into a man, the perfect man that father wanted you to be. Now you dare question why I have come back to the house that belongs to me.”

  “It doesn’t belong to you, Terrence!” Barton stated.

  Terrence frowned and put back the painting. “I own everything, Barton. I am the first son and the sole heir of father, whether you like it or not. I am here to take what is mine.”

  Barton smiled. “You did not work for anything in this house, Terrence. You left and never came back!”

  “I left because of you, brother!” Terrence shouted, his nose flaring. “If not that you went to complain to father, he would never have thrown me out!”

  “You hurt our sister! You almost killed her!”

  “That still gave them no right to banish me from the house!”

  “What is going on here!”

  Both brothers turned to see Luanne climbing down the stairs, behind her was Theodosia who was looking confused as well.

  Terrence smiled and turned towards his sister.

  “My beautiful Luanne. Look how far you have grown. You have become a beautiful woman,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. Then he stopped when he sighted Theodosia.

  “And who is this beauty behind you?” Terrence asked.

  “Hello, brother. Good to see you too. This is Theodosia…”

  “My fiancé,” Barton completed it on purpose.

  “I am charmed,” Terrence said. He walked to Theodosia and kissed her hand. Finally, he walked back to Barton while the ladies watched what was happening below.

  “Barton, I do not wish to fight with you on anything. I am only here to take back what is mine. You cannot deny me of that.”

  “If I chose to give you anything from father’s properties, it is only from the goodness of my heart, Terrence. Everything you see here, I worked for. You cannot just come back here and claim them all!”

  Terrence laughed. “I think you forgot the kind of person I am, I will not only take what is mine, I will take our sister and your fiancé as well. Soon, she will begging for my touch! Won’t you darling?” he asked, looking at Theodosia who had gone all white and was now rushing back whence she had come.

  “Theodosia!” Luanne ran after her.

  “I shall be back! And when I come back, you better be in your right senses! You know what I can do!” Terrence said, walking out and slamming the door after him.

  Barton was infuriated. He thought of going after Luanne but changed his mind and instead walked back to his study.

  “I am terribly sorry that you had to see that,” Luanne said to her as they got to the room.

  “Who was that?” Theodosia asked.

  “That was our brother, the one that was banished from the house many years ago. He is not the kind of person that you would describe as being ‘good’. Many would describe him as the black sheep of the family.”

  “Where has he been all this while and why was he banished?”

  Luanne sighed. “Terrence had always been so rough even while we were children. He was always beating either myself or Barton. He was defiant and would not listen to anybody. One day, I made him angry and he beat me severely,” she explained. “The mark is still on my back. It was just us children at home and the servants tried to stop him but he was so strong. Barton could not hold him off as well. When father came back, he was so angry with him, he sent him out of the house. Then he never came back again until now.”

  Theodosia was quiet as she listened to all this.

  “Did you try to look for him after he was banished?” she asked.

  “Yes, father did everything he could. He was found, but he refused to come home. He said he didn’t have a family.”

  “He seems really dangerous and determined,” Theodosia stated.

  “Yes, he is. I am surprised that he has not changed at all. He is back to take father’s properties. You see, while he was the black sheep of the family, Barton was the good son of the family. There has always been this bitter rival between them. He is envious of Barton because father loved him best among us three. But that is understandable. He is a good person and very hardworking. You will love him if you get to know him.”

  Theodosia sighed. Some minutes later, she was the only one in the room and was thinking about all that had happened. Luanne was helping with her hair when they heard noises coming from somewhere around the house. Then they were not sure, so they decided to take a look.

  Terrence had seemed like a good man. He was a tall, heavily built man. He also had this unkempt beard below his chin. There was something about him which she couldn’t understand. But then there was the family resemblance. The three shared the same brown hair and pointy nose. He had behaved like a gentleman when he kissed her hand but what set him off was the way he had spoken to Barton.

  Her mind went to him, she felt sorry for him and hoped he was alright.

  Throughout the day, she neither saw Luanne nor Barton until the night came when she had come to her room.

  “Are you awake?” Luanne asked, stepping in

  “Yes, I am,” she replied, rising to a sitting position. She had been so bored throughout the day from being alone for a long time.

  Luanne came in and sat beside her,

  “Sorry, I was away. Was busy with some things in the study since Barton is nowhere to be found.”

  Theodosia frowned. “Could he have left with your brother?” she asked.

  “No, I doubt that. The servants said he had left later when Terrence left. He must have gone somewhere to clear his head. He always does that whenever he needs to think.”

  Theodosia felt bad. “I am so sorry.”

  “Oh! Nonsense! There is nothing to be sorry for, dear. I am here to bid you a goodnight,” Luanne said with a smile.

  Minutes later, they said the
ir goodnight and Luanne left. After she left, Theodosia was finding it difficult to sleep. She checked the time on the wall, it was some minutes after ten in the night. She had spent most of her time that day, writing to her mother about her new home, sleeping, and reading, and now she couldn’t do either again. Maybe she could take a walk, she thought, and stood up. Looking out from the window, she could see how inviting the stars and the moonlight was, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a walk in it.

  ***

  Barton entered the house after riding for a while. He felt really tired. He had spent almost all the day riding around town just to clear his head after the whole thing with his brother. He was really angry then but now, spending some time alone had managed to get rid of the anger.

  He walked into the drawing room and sat down, giving off a loud sigh. He was certain that Terrence would never back down easily. He would try to do everything to get what he wants. The only thing he could do right now, would be to get married to Theodosia as quickly as he could. He had to tell her in a way that would not frighten the young lady but how would he do that?

  His thoughts were interrupted by a movement on the stairs.

  “Anne?” he called out but there was no response.

  “Luanne, sister is that you?” he called out again. This time, the movement stopped.

  Could it be Terrence?

  With this thought, he sprang on his feet and dashed out of the drawing room only to come face to face with Theodosia who looked as if she had just been caught doing what she ought not do.

  “Forgive me, my lady. I didn’t know you were the one,” he apologized.

  “Forgive me, Lord Barton, I never knew you were here. I apologize.”

  They both stared at each other for a while before looking away at the same time.

  “What are you doing out of bed, if I may ask? For it is late. I assume you should be sleeping.”

  The lady nodded. “Well, I spent most of the day sleeping and now I am unable to get anymore sleep. I thought I could take a walk around.”

  “Well, you must not go about alone in the dark, my lady. Especially now that my brother is around, I cannot guarantee your safety.”

  Barton wished he hadn’t said that for now, the lady was looking really terrified.

  “I don’t mean to scare you, it is just a way of cautioning you to be careful, my lady. If you wish to take a walk, I will gladly accompany you.”

  “Well, I would hate very much to bother you, my lord,” Theodosia started.

  “Oh no, it will not be a bother, I assure you. Besides, it will give me a chance to apologize for everything that happened this morning. Certainly, you have some things on your mind to say.”

  The lady smiled. “Very well, then.”

  After taking a walk in the garden for a while, the two finally sat on one of the seats that were in the garden.

  It was a beautiful night, and the stars made it even more colorful. Theodosia found herself at ease in her company and she soon realized that he wasn’t as scary as she had thought.

  “So, you slept most of the time today?” Barton asked.

  “Oh, yes, that I did. I was bored. You were not around and your sister was somewhat busy. I did some reading but then, I slept when I could find nothing else to do.”

  He chuckled. “I apologize for that. I shouldn’t have run off like that. I promised you that each day here will be interesting, and now you had to get bored. Would you forgive me?”

  Theodosia smiled. She liked his humility. “Of course, my lord. I know that seeing your brother must have caused an awkward moment, and it is understandable if you need some time alone.”

  He smiled. “I appreciate your understanding.”

  “Of course. I know how families can be difficult most of the time.”

  He raised his brows. He seemed surprised. “You do?”

  She smiled and nodded. “Of course. I mean, how many fathers would give their daughters away on gambling?”

  He smiled. “We have never spoken about that.”

  “Yes, I actually never wanted to talk about it for I keep imagining what you must think of me.”

  “Nonsense. I do not think of you at all, I mean, not that I do not think of you, I have a very good thought of you and not in any way you may have presumed.”

  Theododisa burst into laughter. What he just said right now didn’t make any sense but she could tell that he was making effort to be nice to her.

  He colored. “I am sorry, but you understand me?”

  “I do,” she replied with a chuckle. “Well, now that I have raised it, what was on your mind the whole time about me?”

  He frowned. “Well, I still do not see why your father would decide to give someone as beautiful as you away just like that. You are very beautiful and I feel that any man that would have you is indeed lucky.”

  Theodosia found herself blushing uncontrollably. Everything he was saying was making her really happy.

  “So why did you come that day? How did you hear of the whole gambling thing?” she asked.

  “Well, as you know, your father is our family lawyer. I was in a dire need of a bride. I need to get married before my next birthday so that I can have the properties that father has left to me; failure to do that will mean that I lose everything to my treacherous brother, this is unacceptable. My servant came over to your place and heard everything that your father had said…”

  “Oh, I remember,” replied Theodosia. She had just remembered the servant that had demanded to see her father on that very day. “I took him to see my father and when we both heard what he said about giving me away, I couldn’t see him again.”

  “Yes, he came to tell me that he had found solution to all my problems. So that was how I came and your father was really drunk that day, thus I won.”

  Theodosia shook her head; she was somehow relieved after everything he had said.

  “I am sorry that he did that to you,” he continued. “You deserve so much more.”

  She looked up at him and smiled. He really knew how to make her happy. “You are so kind, Lord Barton,” she said. “So, what about your brother?”

  He shrugged. “The truth is that, I am afraid of my own brother. I have always feared him while we were children and now, seeing him again, I could see that he has grown even worse. He has always been selfish and bitter. He would never stop until he gets all those properties.”

  “But you can stop him, right?” she asked.

  “Yes, the only way to stop him is by getting married to you. But I do not want to force you into doing what you are not ready to do.”

  Theodosia smiled. “You brought me here for a reason and with the way you and your sister have been very kind to me, I will be happy to spend some time with you and get to know you, then we can talk about when we want to get married.”

  When Barton heard this, he couldn’t believe his ears.

  “You are not joking, are you?” he asked to be sure.

  “Of course not,” Theodosia replied and before he could stop himself, he took her hands and kissed them.

  “Thank you.”

  She only smiled.

  “So, can we go in now, I feel it is getting cold and I do not want you to freeze out there,” he said, and she nodded.

  “I was hoping you would say no so I may have to carry you again,” he joked, and she laughed. He liked hearing her laugh, it made him feel really good.

  “I should thank you for last night. I heard I fell asleep in your arms,” she said as they were now walking back inside. Her arm was tucked in the hollow of his.

  “Oh, yes you did. You must have really enjoyed being in my arms, you slept like a baby.”

  She blushed. “That was really embarrassing for me. I merely closed my eyes and the next thing I knew, it was morning.”

  He laughed. “Well, it was my pleasure and feel free to do so again anytime. You were as light as a feather.”

  “So would you have dropped me if I were to be h
eavier?” she teased.

  “Of course not, I would have simply woken you up,” he replied, and they both laughed.

  Finally they were standing in front of her room.

  “Thank you so much, Lord Barton. I enjoyed every minute at the Opera and the moments we had out there.”

  He smiled and bowed a little. “It was my pleasure. Do have a beautiful night, my lady.”

  He waited until she opened the door and closed it behind her. Then he proceeded to his room as well.

  Minutes later while he lay in his bed, he kept thinking of the wonderful moments he had had that night. Somehow she had made all the bad memories of the day vanish completely with her smile, her presence and her charm. There was something about this lady that he was finding irresistible and the more he thought about it, the happier he became.

  Chapter 8

  Interesting Things

  Terrence smoked heavily from the cigar in between his fingers as he lay on the bed. The inn wasn’t all that comfortable, but it was better than not having anywhere to stay. He was furious, and he needed a plan. He was certain that Barton would never let him have those properties easily, but he would take them by force. If only he knew the lawyer that was in charge of the whole thing.

  One thing he was also certain of was that his father had not left anything for him. How would he? When he had banished him since twelve. He would have his vengeance by selling every single thing his father had left behind.

  Barton had not changed one single bit. He was still acting like the dutiful boring son that he had always been. Well, one thing had certainly changed, and that was the beautiful lady he had seen—Theodosia. She was indeed beautiful, and not only would he take everything from him, he would make sure he has the lovely damsel as well, including his sister.

  “I am not certain that Luanne would want to support me,” he said to his servant, who had come to the inn with him.

  They had secured the inn that night for he was really angry that Barton hadn’t even offered him a place to stay. Well, probably because he didn’t ask.

  “I believe it is expected if she doesn’t want to have anything to do with you. The last memory she had of you was that of pain. I believe if you can convince her to forgive you, maybe she will,” said Ron. He was a young lad in his early twenties.