With the day still early, Kate nodded and quitted the house to walk in the garden, giving Deidra and Mr. Darlington enough time to reacquaint themselves with each other. She’d taken a seat on the bench, remembering her and Lord Wesley’s first reckless kiss. The memory still too raw, she stood and stepped into the maze. She closed her eyes, recalling how Lord Wesley had rescued her. She was still able to feel his caress on her face. Then the wind shifted and the warm spiciness of his skin filled the air around her.
“Kate?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Kate stood, unable to move, unable to think. The sight of Lord Wesley, standing so virile and mesmerizing made her heart catapult inside her chest, causing her to lose her breath. She stepped closer and stopped. Aside from his magnificent form, he wore a perplexed and uncertain expression that had her hands sweating.
“I…” She blew out a shaky breath and stepped toward him. If she’d thought to rehearse what she wanted to say, she was sure she would have forgotten every word.
“What…what are you doing here?” His words sounded anguished.
She stumbled over the answer in her mind. Before she could put a reasonable reply together with everything she wanted to say, he stepped forward and reached inside his waistcoat to retrieve a letter.
“I believe this belongs to you…or to Mr. Garrett.”
Kate didn’t take her gaze from Lord Wesley’s face as she reached out and took the tiny parchment from his encompassing hands. While hers shook, his remained steady. She wanted to faint. More than that, she wanted to rush headlong into his arms and confess how much she’d missed him, how much she loved him. Not Edward, and certainly not Mr. Leisure.
Only him.
Whether he loved her without having to or without Penndrake hanging over him as an ultimatum remained to be heard. She needed to know the truth of his feelings, and she wanted him to know the truth of hers, no matter if her heart shattered into a million more pieces. It was the mistake she’d made with Arthur, to deny and then hold everything inside until she thought so little of herself, she no longer existed.
With Lord Wesley, she’d felt more emotions, experienced more love than she ever thought possible. And she loved him, loved him because he’d taken responsibility for this child. Because he’d done everything in his physical power to make Penndrake and the villagers’ homes whole again. He was a good man, despite what her cousin said, despite what he’d set out to do to her. She believed he had every right to hate her, but he chose, in the end, to set her free, a chaste lady.
“I needed to see you,” she said, so faint, she wondered if he heard her.
He nodded, his gaze cautious and steady on her face. “I was in London.”
She turned back toward the house. “Mrs. Abram let me know.”
There was a long silence, prompting Kate to keep talking or lest he become impatient and wish her a good day. “I know I should have sent a card first, but I—”
“Again, I ask, why are you here?” His stern, husky voice prompted her to step back, farther into the maze. He followed her, his steps slow and methodical. Her nervous hands reached out to run her trembling fingers along the wet vegetational hedge.
A few feet inside the walls, she stopped, only to have him continue toward her, not halting until she had to tilt her head back to see his serious face.
“My lord, I…I want the truth. I want…” she trailed off, unsure what to say or even how to say the words. Now, confronted by him, her heart wouldn’t cease its thunderous beating. She glanced around, realizing just how far she’d traveled inside the labyrinth. What if she fainted and Edward showed up to carry her away, without her asking one question or knowing one answer—if Lord Wesley loved her.
“We should probably go inside.” Lord Wesley reached out his hand, and she dodged from his grasp. No! She needed to concentrate on her words and not her phobia.
“Tell me!”
He stared at her for a moment. When she thought he might emit a masculine growl and stomp away, he brushed a frustrated hand through his hair.
“I believe I’ve told you the truth, madam.”
She flinched from his icy tone. With more courage than she felt, she pulled back her shoulders and tilted her chin upward. She braced her heart and said what she’d been wanting to say since she’d left Penndrake. “I know I may have been a pawn at first, but at any time, did you ever love me the way I love—”
“Stop!” he rasped. “Why have you come to torture me?”
She shook her head, desperate to correct him. “That was never my intention, my lord.”
“No?”
She stood her ground, then reached up and fisted her hands into his jacket, daring him to make her let go. “Tell me you don’t love me.” She shook him, although the motion did little to rattle his large and sturdy form. “I want to hear you say it.”
She hiccuped on the last word and then held her breath until he lifted a palm to her cheek to swipe at a wayward tear.
“Although I never confessed my reasons for bringing you into my life, I have not, nor will I ever, lie to you about how I feel.” The conviction in his words made the breath catch in her throat. “With that being said, I love you enough to let you go.”
“But—”
“Kate, I’m so sorry for hurting you, for putting you through this.” He hesitated. “I’ve decided to entail Penndrake to your father so that you may always have a home. It’s unprecedented, but it’s all I have to give you.”
“No, it’s not, my lord,” she said before lifting to press her lips against his. She clung to him, tasting the salt of her own tears.
He drew back enough to gaze into her face. “You’re to be married soon. I saw the letter.”
Kate shook her head, ashamed of what she’d done. “My father…it was cowardice for me to agree to marry Edward. What I said at the church, I meant, with all my heart.”
Lord Wesley emitted a low growl before his mouth descended onto hers, possessive and powerful. Skillful in his endeavors, she yielded to the pressure and relaxed against his coaxing. She became lost to his touch and the woodsy and spicy scent of his skin.
He pulled away to whisper his thoughts. “I should have told you everything from the beginning. I chose the wrong course and almost lost you.” He pressed his forehead to hers and brought her closer. “I promise to never keep anything from you again.”
He tensed and then relaxed. “With that being said, there is something—”
Nearby, a man’s heavy footfalls made them freeze.
“My lord? Where did you go?”
“Bartram,” Lord Wesley grunted, shielding her from any intrusion. After a moment of stillness, his lordship instructed her to stay put until he came back to retrieve her. He’d only managed a few steps before the Bartrams emerged in unison to stand in his path.
Kate dipped her head, embarrassed she’d been caught alone with Lord Wesley. Mrs. Bartram smiled and nodded her understanding. The vicar, on the other hand, appeared much more annoyed.
“You could have said something to prevent me from coming all this way, my lord.”
“I was in the middle of an important conversation with Miss Holden,” Lord Wesley said, unashamed, but still defending his actions.
Mr. Bartram then smiled. “Well, in that case, forgive us for intruding; however, you must know that you have additional guests who might object to the…conversation.”
“Mr. Bartram!” his wife scolded.
The vicar glanced back and shrugged, innocent and still annoyed.
“Kathryn Elizabeth Holden!”
Kate felt the blood drain from her face.
Papa.
…
Wesley took Kate’s hand and led her out of the maze. As he suspected, Kate’s father stood next to the garden, his features stoic. His wife and Edward Garrett were to his left. Behind them, the rest of the guests peered for a better view of the drama unfolding in the Penndrake garden.
“This affair
ends here, my lord,” Mr. Holden exclaimed, his body shaking with rage.
Kate ran to stand between him and Lord Wesley, her hands outstretched beside her as if to ward them both off each other.
“Papa, you must—”
“Stay out of this, Kate,” Mr. Holden warned.
“I will not. I love him, and you forcing me to marry someone else will not change that.”
Wesley felt his heart warm at her words. Since he believed the man would never give him permission to marry his daughter, there was only one thing left for Wesley to do.
He looked at Mr. Holden and nodded. “Forgive me, sir, but I hope to rectify this situation with a proposition,” he said, watching Mr. Darlington bring Deidra closer to him and Mrs. Bartram grasp her husband’s arm.
When he glanced toward Garrett, the man stood with his hands locked behind his back. He didn’t intervene. He just remained rooted to his spot, one eyebrow raised with perhaps cautious curiosity.
His attention returned to Mr. Holden who appeared to be one word away from killing him.
“Sir, I have just recently obtained the full rights to Penndrake. This is not often done, but I would like to have the estate and all its income transferred to you. Kate—Miss Holden’s dowry would greatly improve from it, especially once I make the necessary repairs. It will ensure your daughter will never be in want of anything again.”
Mr. Holden sauntered a cautious step forward. “Why would you do this?”
Wesley didn’t hesitate to answer. “Because I’m in love with her…and I have nothing else to barter.”
“My lord,” Kate whispered beside him. “Please don’t give up Penndrake for me.”
The urge to comfort her overwhelmed him. While Mrs. Holden cried into her handkerchief, Wesley brought a bold hand around Kate’s waist and hauled her against his right side. She smelled of sweetness and serenity. With or without Penndrake, she was his life, and would be until his last breath.
“You know, sir,” Edward said ambling into the fray and then pausing as if to gauge his next words toward Mr. Holden. “Lord Wesley, although somewhat coarse and anarchic in his ways, has demonstrated an honorable reason for…proposing to your daughter.”
Wesley almost choked after hearing Edward’s words. Had Wesley found an unlikely ally in all of this? This forced him to think harder about the card game he’d played with the man earlier. Had Edward allowed Wesley to win Penndrake back in order to see what he’d do regarding Kate? Unfortunately, Mr. Holden balked, turned, and sliced a finger in Edward’s direction.
“Have you gone completely mad? From what I understand, you’re the one who instigated all of this!”
“Quite true,” Edward conceded and stepped back.
Mr. Holden shook his head and returned his full attention back to Wesley. “Despite what you’ve proposed, under no circumstances will I allow my daughter to marry a man whose bastard son…”
“The child is not my son’s. He is my husband’s.”
Wesley closed his eyes for a brief moment as a chorus of gasps echoed in the garden. Everyone turned to find Lady Wesley, her lithe form swaying like a birch branch in a summer wind.
He twisted in her direction and sent her a silent plea to say nothing.
She defied him by holding up a long and elegant hand. “We have lived under the shield of disgrace and dishonor long enough.”
Wesley knew when to let his mother speak. She peered around at everyone, eliciting a respectful curtsy from the women and modest bows from the men.
“I have only come to clear up a mistake that I should never have let happen. My son has risked his life on more than one occasion for the misdeeds of his father. I may be partial, but if any man is worthy of your daughter, it is my son. That is all that I need to say.”
Her back stiff, her shoulders straight, she turned and strolled away.
Her presence faded with every pair of eyes shifting back toward Wesley. He didn’t know what impact his mother’s words had on Mr. Holden’s decision but wanted everyone to know how he felt about the child.
“My mother has spoken, but let it be known, I will raise Gabriel as my own. His future is scarred enough without the knowledge of both his parents being dead.” He would not let anything happen to his little brother, and he’d strike anyone down who tried to harm him.
As if on cue, Edward stepped forward and shifted his gaze between him and Kate. When the man finally spoke, he directed his words straight at Wesley. “My fault was assuming I knew the answers before I’d asked the questions. I should never have intervened in Kate’s happiness. As men, we tend to believe we know what’s best when we don’t.”
Garrett sliced a quick glance at Mr. Holden before returning his gaze back to Wesley. “To me, you have proven to be a worthy opponent, my lord. I brought you and Kate together with little regard for her feelings. If there ever was a man who deserved her beauty, love, and happiness, it is you.”
Wesley narrowed his gaze. “So, you did let me win Penndrake back from you. Why?”
Garrett shrugged. “I needed to know she meant more to you than stone and mortar.”
Garrett then extended his hand and Wesley accepted it with some hesitation. He believed there should be a subtle transition from enemy to friend.
“If you will excuse me,” Garrett said, bending down to give his cousin a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I wish you all the happiness in the world.”
She sent him a reserved smiled. “Thank you.”
Everyone watched Edward Garrett turn, stalk toward Mr. Holden, and then whisper a few words before bowing to leave.
“My lord?”
Wesley bent his head toward Kate, whose face shone bright with tears.
“I can’t bear to leave you,” she whispered and then hiccuped on a sob. He lifted his hand to swipe a gentle thumb across her damp cheek. It killed him to see her this miserable.
Frustrated, he looked up and around, noticing she wasn’t the only one crying. Almost every female had their handkerchiefs out, dapping at their eyes, including Mrs. Holden.
Wesley knew he had a very small window to speak to Kate’s father. Whatever Edward told him, Wesley hoped it was enough to make the man doubt his commitment to keeping him and Kate apart. If Wesley was willing to die for Penndrake, he was willing to beg for her.
“Mr. Holden,” Wesley called, forcing the man to turn in his direction. “I would very much like a word with you, in private.”
…
Kate held tighter to her breath, as well as his lordship’s hand. She knew he was going to ask permission to marry her. What if her father spoke his last word on the matter, separating them forever? She remained grounded until her father exhaled and bent his head in a relinquished nod.
Lord Wesley turned toward her and lifted her hand to place it upon his heart. “I love you,” he said, his gaze magnificent and penetrating.
With a sensual wink, he left to talk to her father. Kate waited, her attention focused on the two men, their heads bent together in serious conversation. She knew Lord Wesley would get what he wanted, he always did. Her heart fluttered at the thought.
Just as she wanted to walk toward them, an irritable cry sounded at her left side. She turned to find Mabel and a red-faced Gabriel, trying like heck to wiggle out of the maid’s arms.
“He wants his father,” she said with an exasperated pant.
“I’ll take him.” Kate held her hands out, and the young child tilted toward her, his bottom lip quivering.
“He’s just been changed.”
“Thank you, Mabel.”
The girl curtsied and fell away, remaining close by.
Kate hugged the child and nuzzled his cheek with her nose. He made a giggling sound and tried to mimic her affection, leaving a trail of slobber from her nose to her right ear.
“Ah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look more beautiful.” She glanced up to find Lord Wesley nearing her.
“Yes, I hear slobber does wonders for th
e complexion,”
He chuckled before taking the child from her arms.
Kate, unable to wait another second regarding her father’s answer, held her breath before asking, “Are we—”
He leaned down to make sure no one else could hear. “Do you mean, are we destined to live a wonderful life together, arguing continuously and making love recklessly, then the answer is yes, Miss Holden, we are.”
She wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. He didn’t give her the chance to do either as his lips brushed against hers. Teasing at first, they became more possessive until he broke away breathless.
“Soon,” he murmured, resting his forehead against hers.
She didn’t understand how things come to be, how they’d fallen so in love after such a tumultuous beginning. Fate? Or for them, was love, against all odds, destined to win?
Epilogue
Six Weeks Later…
Wesley held his wife’s hand and guided her out of the open carriage. They had reached the small cottage Garrett had given them for a wedding present, and Wesley couldn’t wait to get her alone. Although he’d never convince himself he deserved her, he’d love her until he took his last breath.
“It’s beautiful here,” Kate said, pulling the strings of her bonnet to keep it from flying away. When the cool late autumn breeze surged upward, her hat took off, twirling like a kite in the wind.
“Oh bother!” she said.
He chuckled and sprinted after it, catching the strings just before it landed in the mud some distance away. She reached him a moment later, red-faced and out of breath.
“Your hat,” he said, handing it back to her, remembering how they’d first met.
“Thank you,” she said, blushing and smiling. “Maybe it’s safer I don’t wear them.”
He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “I’ll always be here to rescue you.”
When she lifted on her tiptoes and kissed him, he felt the nervousness in her lips.
“Come,” he said, folding his hand in hers and leading her inside the cottage. The main room held a large bed with an attached sitting space. To ward off the chill, he’d asked the caretaker to build a fire before they arrived. The flames flickered and snapped and cast shadows over the dark heavy furniture.
A Mistress for Penndrake Page 26