by Tinnean
“Geo, you’re giving me more credit than I deserve. This is my legacy. I could no more abandon Fayerweather than I could….” I frowned, unable to think of anything.
“Precisely.” And he kissed me.
Chapter 15
I was again settled comfortably against Geo’s shoulder when my stomach rumbled, reminding me it had been some time since breakfast. “What’s the time?”
Geo took out his pocket watch. “It lacks an hour until dinner.”
“Truly?” I stared at him, nonplussed. “I was unconscious for that long?”
“Indeed, and quite frightened me out of my wits. Are you feeling well enough to go down?”
I tested my limbs cautiously. There was a twinge in my knee, but other than that I felt surprisingly well. “Yes, although I may need to lean upon you.”
“Lean away. I’ll ring for Kincaid.” He got off the bed and crossed to the bellpull.
“Geo, what is this?” I realized that articles of his clothing were scattered about my chamber.
Color tinged his cheeks. “’Tis nothing. I wanted to make sure you hadn’t taken grievous hurt.”
So he’d stayed, keeping watch over me? I flushed with pleasure. “Thank you.”
“Think nothing of it.”
I smiled. Did he truly think I wouldn’t? “When did you get here?”
“I was just tooling up in the phaeton when you came storming out of the manor.”
“I’d just missed you? Oh, Geo, a fine welcome for you.”
“Even worse was when they brought you home on a shutter.”
“I’m so dreadfully sorry!”
“No matter. As long as you’re alive, it—” There was a tap on the door, and Geo went to it. “Ah, Kincaid.”
“Sir Ashton?” The man actually sounded concerned.
“Yes, he’s with us once more. We’ll need water for shaving.”
“And for bathing, also,” I called.
Kincaid poked his head around Geo. “I’m glad to see you’re more the thing, sir.”
“Th… thank you!”
“Shall I tell her ladyship you’ll both be down for dinner?”
“Yes.”
“Very good, sir. I’ve lain out your dinner clothes, Mr. Geo, and when I return, I’ll see to Sir Ashton’s.”
“Splendid. Thank you.” Geo closed the door and turned to me.
“You’re looking very solemn, sir.” I patted the bed beside me. “Come join me.”
He limped toward the bed but hesitated. “Ashton, I’ve no wish to distress you, but… but I find I must ask you something.”
“Yes?”
“Is… is Burt your by-blow?”
I couldn’t help myself. I burst into laughter. “Have you seen Mrs. Johnson?”
“Don’t be difficult. You’ve said yourself the boy is only five. You could easily have fathered him on a young lady and given him to the Johnsons.”
“I suppose I could have, but the truth of the matter is I didn’t. I’ve never lain with a woman. Why would you think such a thing?”
“Perhaps because he bears such a resemblance to you?”
“Do you think so? He could more easily be one of Sir Eustace’s. He was in the petticoat line, not I.”
“You’re being deliberately obtuse.”
“I’m not, Geo. Of course I noticed the resemblance, but I could hardly bring Sir Eustace’s by-blow to live here in Laytham Hall. I’ll do the best I can for him, but it would not be fair to the boy to let him have a taste of manor life, only to apprentice him to Mr. Ruston or to Giffard.”
“So one day you’ll marry?”
“If I wish to leave Fayerweather to a legitimate heir? I have no choice, although it will go hard on the lady who settles for me.”
“‘Settles’?”
“The estate is heavily entailed. Even if it weren’t, I’ve no taste for Town life. Unless she had money of her own, she’d perforce have to remain here. What father would allow his daughter to wed into such circumstances?”
“If you married a Cit’s daughter?”
“It may come to that, and if it does, he could well want to have a hand in the running of Fayerweather.”
“And you wouldn’t permit that?”
“You must understand. I’ll have already made so many concessions….”
“I could advance you whatever sums were needed.”
“No, Geo. I’m so indebted to you—”
“I’ve a message for you, lamb. I’m plump enough in the pocket that a few hundred guineas here or there won’t make a difference!” He smiled at me, and for a moment I couldn’t catch my breath.
“Will it… will it bother you?”
“You being leg-shackled? What have I to say in it? As you’ve pointed out, you must have an heir.” He looked resigned.
Was this how Ned felt? Was this why he was going to India?
“Blister it!” I growled. I seized Geo’s shoulders and pulled him against me. “Once she’s given me an heir, I’ll find the ready to set her up in a house in London or Bath or Brighton, wherever she wants. I won’t let her come between us!” The kiss was bruising, my teeth hard on his lips and my tongue demanding entrance to his mouth, which he gave readily, his arm about my neck, holding me close. I broke away finally to give us both an opportunity to breathe. “Will you… do you…?”
He ran his palm over my cheek, letting his fingertips trace the curve of my jaw.
“Well, of course I do!”
Dinner, thankfully, was over.
It had been an uncomfortable affair, with Aunt Cecily frequently averting her gaze from the gouges on my cheek.
Conversation was desultory; for the most part, Arabella gushed on about where she and William would reside, naming the most fashionable neighborhoods in London, while William grew silent and thoughtful.
Might he be having second thoughts? I wondered snidely.
Well, perhaps Aunt Cecily would give him what remained of the price of the Flame.
Finally, the last cover was removed, and the ladies left us to our port.
“I must say your return to Fayerweather comes as something of a surprise to me, William.” I took a walnut from the dish at the center of the table and cracked it neatly between my fingers.
I caught Geo watching my fingers. When his eyes raised to mine, they were hungry, and I lost track of the conversation.
He swallowed a smile and nudged my ankle under the table.
“I beg your pardon, William. You were saying?”
“Mr. Stephenson gave me no choice.”
“Eh?” Geo’s father looked startled. “What had I—oh, you mean George!”
Geo observed them ironically. “I thought Laytham was due an explanation.”
“Of course.” There was reluctant acceptance in William’s voice. “You must understand. Robin did what he did for Aunt Cecily. At first neither John nor I could fathom his reasoning—”
“And yet you were both willing to shoulder the responsibility.”
“But of course! He was our brother!”
“Of course.”
“He was quite cross with us, claimed we were attempting to steal his thunder…. Well, you know his droll wit. Once we were on the Peregrine Falcon he explained the entire thing.”
“Why go to America? Why not the Continent?”
“Robin had some idea of discovering the whereabouts of the American who’d bought the Flame, of talking the man into letting him buy it back.”
“May I ask where he intended to find £10,000?”
“Oh, he devised a grand scheme. We would take employment that would put us in contact with men of wealth.”
“Of all the mutton-headed—”
“No, it worked! They paid no heed to what they said before us, and using the information they unwittingly let fall, we were able to amass a tidy fortune.” He reached for his glass and took a sip. “Unfortunately, the man’s wife was enamored of the Flame and refused to part with it.”
>
“What did Robert do?”
“He began paying court to Mrs. Van—to the wife’s maid. Once he discovered where the Flame was kept, it didn’t take very long to replace it with the counterfeit.”
“Then….” I swallowed. “Then the stone we have is the actual Flame? Geo, I… I can’t remember where I left it!”
“Never fear. It was in the pocket of your trousers. I placed it in your dresser.” He paused to scowl at William. “Hood never saw fit to divulge that bit of information.”
“Why would I, when it was no longer in my possession?”
Geo’s scowl darkened, but I breathed a sigh of relief. It hadn’t mattered when I’d thought the stone was paste, but now that I knew the genuine article was once again in my possession….
“I wish I knew to whom Sir Eustace intended to sell it.”
“Is that all you care about?” William was clearly put out.
“Yes. Ten thousand pounds will see all the farms and cottages in repair, Giffard will have the equipment he’s had in mind, the stud will have its stallion—”
“No, Ash.” Geo interrupted my reverie of the splendor of that. “You need to keep the Flame for your son.”
“Eh? Awful’s managed to romance some deluded lady?”
“Don’t call him that!” The look he sent William’s way was deadly.
“And we’re talking about the future.” I was touched by Geo’s defense of me.
“Huh.” William hunched a shoulder and turned from me pointedly to resume his tale. “We left New York immediately, making our way West, trusting the Com—the man wouldn’t realize the stone had been switched. Robin said many vanished without a trace beyond the Mississippi, and so would we. Eventually, he said, we’d find a port—New Orleans, perhaps—with a ship sailing for home, and—”
“But you didn’t.”
“No. We heard of the unrest in Texas, and Robin—” William glanced at Mr. Stephenson. “You recall his spirit, sir?”
“Indeed.” Mr. Stephenson’s upper lip quivered for a moment.
“We arrived in San Antonio early in February. At first John and I didn’t think it would be a hopeless venture, but then Colonel Travis drew that line in the dust and asked all who would stay to cross over. Robin was the first.”
“Brave lad!” Mr. Stephenson averred.
Foolish was more like, but I said nothing.
“Of course the mission fell. We were less than two hundred, and the Mexicans… there they were, as far as the eye could see, and we’d no sooner shoot one down than twenty would be there to replace him. It was like that… that Greek myth of the warriors raised from the teeth of the dragon? There was no hope. Colonel Travis was desperate, and wanted someone to ride to General Houston’s headquarters. Robin shoved me forward. ‘He’s the lightest,’ he said. ‘He’ll get the most speed from his horse.’ But it was useless. General Houston wouldn’t send more men.”
“And that was when you traded the Flame for a horse to return to the Alamo.”
“Yes. I rode that horse to death, but I was too late. By the time I returned….” His voice trembled, and he needed a moment to collect himself. “That bastard Santa Ana had ordered the dead defenders to be stacked like cord wood and burned. I managed to slip into the mission while the Mexican army was caring for their own wounded. I found my brothers in the long barracks. John had blanketed Robin’s body with his own, and his back was riddled with wounds. Robin’s shoulder was a bloody mess, but it was the bullet between his eyes that killed him.”
“He always wanted to die in a desperate battle.”
“You’re wrong! Robin had no desire to die, Awful! He simply wanted to fight a desperate battle, such as our father had!”
“Hood, I shan’t tell you but this one last time. Call Ashton ‘Awful’ again, and I’ll knock you on your arse!”
“You? A cripple?”
“William!” Mr. Stephenson seemed genuinely shocked.
“I must say, William, for someone who’s here only by the grace of my good will, you’re sorely trying it.”
“Your good will? What say have you in the matter? Surely Aunt Cecily—”
“Is the one who has no say in who stays at Laytham Hall.”
“Now see here, Laytham—” Geo’s father blustered.
“I shouldn’t say anything, were I you, Father. I rather think you’re here by his good will as well.”
“Precisely.” I concealed my pleasure that Geo knew me so well behind the glass of port I raised to my lips. “I’d advise you not to try my patience, Mr. Stephenson.”
He stared at me open-mouthed. I waited a moment or two longer, but apparently he had nothing further to say.
“Very well, then. The Flame has been returned to me, and I see no need in having the world and his mother-in-law privy to the fact that it was Aunt Cecily who disposed of it, so that matter is at an end. William, am I correct in assuming you still desire to wed Arabella?”
“Indeed, yes!”
“And Mr. Stephenson, do you intend to wed Aunt Cecily?”
“I do.”
“Then you both have my permission. Mr. Stephenson, since you’re a man of influence, it would be best if you rode to Town tomorrow and obtained a pair of special licenses. William, you will see the Reverend Mr. Parramore to arrange for the ceremony for, shall we say, Sunday after services? If that is not soon enough for you, I give you leave to elope to Gretna Green. Are there any objections?”
They stared at me with jaws agape, while Geo ran a fingertip around the rim of his glass, the glint in his eyes the only sign of his approval.
“Excellent. Now then, shall we join the ladies and give them the news?”
The return of the Flame seemed to signal the return of the Laytham fortunes.
With Aunt Cecily and Arabella both married and their husbands’ responsibilities, they were no longer a drain on my purse.
Sir Eustace’s racehorses proved to be flashy lookers but slugs, and I was pleased to find willing buyers for them. The little filly Beauty had foaled shortly after Sir Eustace’s death had won enough purses to bring attention to Fayerweather Stud, as did Jezebel’s colt, which had done well at Goodwood. We still lacked a sire of the Godolphin Arabian’s bloodlines, but both Mr. Ruston and I continued to hope.
It was shortly after Christmas, and I was busy working on the books in my study. A fire burned brightly in the hearth, and outside a fresh fall of snow covered the ground.
The door opened, and I glanced up, expecting to see David, since Colling was no longer at Laytham Hall. He had been quite pleased when Aunt Cecily asked if he might join her household, and I’d seen no reason to deny her.
“What is it… Jem?”
“Mr. Ruston asks that you come to the stable, sir.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Oh, yes!”
“But Mr. Ruston requires my presence there.”
He was grinning hugely. “Yes, sir.”
Curious. “Very well.”
David was hovering outside the study, a woolen cloak in his hands. “You’ll need this, sir.”
“Hmm.” I took it from him, frowning. He was in exceptional spirits. Not that I objected to my servants being happy, but it was usually Geo’s man who put that expression on my butler’s face. “Thank you.”
Jem followed along beside me, almost skipping.
“How are you finding life as a married man?” He had wed his milkmaid the previous autumn, and I’d given them the cottage at the end of the lane.
A smile split his face. “It’s wonderful, Sir Ash, and my Nell…. Well, I never expected to be so happy.”
“I’m pleased for you.”
“Will you…. Forgive me for making so bold as to ask, but will Fayerweather be getting a new mistress?”
“Eventually.” Of course I must wed—Geo and I had spoken of it on occasion—but neither of us looked to it with much enthusiasm. And a new worry had begun to plague me. Would my member be able t
o rise when the time came to consummate the marriage?
I’d mentioned it to Geo, and he’d pinched my chin. “I’ll help.”
“No, seriously, Geo—”